Tag Archives: Government

The Year Ahead – Expected Changes to Employment Law

Posted on by

In 2016, employers will see a number of key Employment Law changes. Here is a summary of those agreed so far, to help you prepare for how they might affect your business.

January 2016

Redress for workers punished for breaching exclusivity clause – Regulations came into force on 11 January 2016 to enable workers who suffer a detriment, or are dismissed as a result of breaching an exclusivity clause in a zero hours contract, to make a complaint to an employment tribunal.

March 2016

Gender pay reporting details revealed – Regulations must be introduced by 26 March 2016 that will require employers with 250 or more employees to publish information about their gender pay gaps.

April 2016

National living wage introduced – A new compulsory national living wage, which works as the top rate of the national minimum wage, will be introduced on 1 April 2016 for workers aged 25 and over.

Duty to prepare modern slavery statement takes effect – The duty to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement (which has been in force since 29 October 2015) will apply in relation to financial years ending on or after 31 March 2016, for companies with a turnover of at least £36 million per year. This will begin to take effect for employers from 1 April 2016, depending on the timing of their financial year.

Penalty for failure to pay national minimum wage doubled – Draft Regulations double the penalty for non-payment of the national minimum wage and the national living wage for pay reference periods starting on or after 1 April 2016.

Statutory pay changes – The maximum amount of a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating statutory redundancy pay, and other awards such as the basic award for unfair dismissal, is likely to increase on 6 April 2016. The weekly rates of statutory sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay, adoption pay and shared parental pay will not increase for 2016/17.

October 2016

National minimum wage – This may rise on 1 October 2016, subject to the prevailing economic conditions and the Low Pay Commission’s report, which is due to be delivered to the Government in February 2016.

There are many other changes that are yet to be confirmed, including the Trade Union Bill coming into force, a cap on public-sector exit payments being introduced and new rules on apprenticeships. We’ll bring you news of all these and other changes as they are confirmed. If you have any questions about these changes and how they affect your employees and your business, do get in touch by calling 0118 940 3032 or by clicking here to email us. We will be running our next Employment Law Update workshop on 12 April 2016. Click here for details and online booking.

Is Your Staff Handbook Up To Date for 2019/20?

Posted on by

Is Your Staff Handbook Up To Date for 2019/20?

Every time Employment Law changes, your staff handbook will become more out of date. Changes are made to Employment Law at least twice a year – usually around April and October. If you haven’t checked your Staff Handbook in the last three years, it will be very out of date by now. This means that some of your employee policies could be very out of date and no longer legal.

Why do you need a Staff Handbook?

A Staff Handbook lets you tell your employees about your workplace rules in an efficient, uniform way. Your employees will know what is expected of them and what they can expect of you. A Staff Handbook can provide your company with valuable legal protections, when employees understand the rules of your organisation. It also gives you a good place to collect policies that must be in writing, such as policies on smoking, social media use, or family and medical leave.

How do you keep your Handbook up to date?

To help you bring your Handbook up to date and in line with current legislation, we can review it for you and make recommendations on what needs to be changed. Send us your Staff Handbook as a Word file and we will read through it – confidentially, of course. We will then send you a list of recommended changes that need to be made. The cost for this review is just £250 +VAT.

Once you have our recommendations, you can make the changes yourself. Or we can do them for you – just ask for a quote for bringing your Handbook fully up to date. Call 0118 940 3032 for more details or click here to email your Staff Handbook to us.

Is the Increase in Tribunal Fees Stopping Employees Being Treated Fairly?

Posted on by

Employment tribunal fees were introduced on 29 July 2013. Fees start at around £160 to issue a Type A claim (such as unlawful deduction of wages or breach of contract) and £250 for a Type B claim (e.g. unfair dismissal and discrimination claims). A further hearing fee of £230 must be paid for Type A claims and £950 for Type B claims.

Is the increase in tribunal fees stopping employees from taking their employers to tribunal? Is this reluctance to stand up for what is due to employees allowing some employers to treat their staff unfairly?

Since these fees were established, the number of cases being heard at Tribunal has decreased. April to June 2014 shows an 81% drop in claims compared to the same period in the previous year. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics).  Is this because too many employees can’t afford the fees, or is it just that they don’t want to have to pay the fees?

UNISON has been fighting to have the fees abolished since they were brought in and in August 2015 announced that it would take the case to the Supreme Court, after the Court of Appeal rejected its appeal. UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “The decision is a huge disappointment and a major setback for people at work. Many unscrupulous employers will be rubbing their hands together in glee at the news. There is stark evidence that workers are being priced out of justice and it is women, the disabled and the low-paid who are being disproportionately punished. Our fight for fairness at work and access to justice for all will continue until these unfair and punitive fees are scrapped.”

Due to the Early Conciliation Scheme, anyone wanting to bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal must now contact ACAS first. The job of ACAS’s Early Conciliation Scheme is to help reconcile workplace problems before litigation is commenced. Initial indications suggest, according to the President of the Employment Tribunals (England and Wales), Brian Doyle, that Early Conciliation is likely to have had the same effect without the introduction of tribunal fees.

The Scottish Government announced recently that it intends to abolish fees for employment tribunals in Scotland. Should the same be done in England and Wales?

Workplace Pensions are Here – Act Now, it’s the Law

Posted on by

Even if you employ just one person, you must provide a workplace pension.

Small employers are being warned to act now to ensure they are ready to meet their new workplace pension duties which will soon apply to them.

All employers have a legal duty to automatically enrol certain staff into a workplace pension scheme by a deadline that is specific to them. Automatic enrolment is automatic for workers but not for employers.

It applies to all small businesses, even those with only one member of staff – from dry cleaners, to florists, to newsagents and pubs.

Around half of employers who had thought they would be ready to meet their duties on their staging date found that they were underprepared and had a last minute rush to get finished. Research by The Pensions Regulator has shown that 40% of really small employers (those with less than 4 workers) do not know their staging date.

It is vital you do not guess your staging date – use the staging date tool on The Pension Regulator’s website, which only takes a few minutes (you will need your PAYE).

The experience of thousands of employers who have been through the process now is that automatic enrolment takes longer than they expect to prepare for – the regulator recommends making a start 12 months beforehand.

Don’t get caught out. Start your preparation early.

Useful links:

Tools to get you started: www.tpr.gov.uk/employers/beginners-guide-to-auto-enrolment

The essential guide to automatic enrolment: www.tpr.gov.uk/ae-essential-guide

Find out your staging date: www.tpr.gov.uk/staging

Nominate a contact: www.tpr.gov.uk/nominate

Planning tool: www.tpr.gov.uk/planner

6 month checklist: www.tpr.gov.uk/six-month

Subscribe to TPRs news by email: www.tpr.gov.uk/subscribe

Or click here to download a PDF of the The Essential Guide to Automatic Enrolment from the Pensions Regulator.

Holiday Pay Judgment: What Does it Mean for Your Business?

Posted on by

On 4 November 2014, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) handed down its decision in three significant employment cases. It is a ground-breaking decision which gives some clarity to various European Judgments on the issue.

The key points to take from the decision are that:

  1. Holiday pay should be equivalent to a worker’s “normal” pay. What is “normal” depends on whether the payment in question has been made for a sufficient period of time to justify the label of being “normal” (the regularity / pattern of payments will be relevant in making this decision).
  2. Overtime which a worker is not permitted to refuse (i.e. guaranteed and non-guaranteed overtime) must count as part of their “normal” pay when calculating the pay they should receive on holiday.
  3. The Working Time Regulations which transposed the European Working Time Directive into UK law is incompatible with the Directive, but can be interpreted so as to give effect to these changes.
  4. The vast majority of workers will only be able to recover underpayments in the last three months.

However, there are various intricacies which employers need to appreciate:

  1. The Judgment only applies in respect to the 20 days’ annual leave guaranteed under the Working Time Directive, not the additional 8 days’ leave which is a purely domestic-driven right, set out in the Working Time Regulations. As such, workers can expect to receive a higher rate of holiday pay (that which includes overtime, commissions and various other payments) for 20 out of their 28-days’ holiday per year, with the remaining 8 days being paid at the level it previously was, unless their employer decides to pay all 28 days at the higher level.
  2. Where workers’ previous periods of holiday are separated by a gap of less than 3 months, they may be able to recover underpayments for a longer period than the 3-month limit set out above, by arguing that the underpayments form part of a “series”. Even in those cases however, it is unlikely that they will be able to go back in time to recover underpaid holiday for more than one holiday year.
  3. There is no definitive statement in the Judgment to confirm that purely voluntary overtime (that which the employer is not obliged to offer and the worker is not obliged to accept) would also be included. However, comments in the Judgment and the underlying ethos of the various European decisions could be said to lean towards the view that voluntary overtime which is regularly worked by a worker would count as part of their “normal” pay and hence should be included when calculating holiday pay.
  4. Whilst the domestic 12-week reference period for calculating average pay might be maintained going forward, there could be a change to this (brought about through case law or legislative change) due to the fact that some workers’ pay is highly variable throughout the year and a 12-week snapshot could be misleading depending on the 12-week period captured. For example, a retail worker who does far more overtime during certain periods (perhaps Christmas) would have a far higher average number of hours as their “normal pay” if they took leave in January. Similarly, a salesperson who takes leave shortly after an unusually large commission payment could receive inflated holiday pay which is not representative of “normal pay”. In such cases, a longer period may be necessary and justified. In one of the Opinions of an Advocate General, it was suggested that a 12-month reference period might be appropriate. This is not binding however, and we shall have to wait and see how this issue is resolved.

As a result of this Judgment and other employment cases we can now say with some confidence that the following elements of a worker’s pay should count when calculating their first 20 days’ statutory holiday in a holiday year:

  • Commission payments
  • Guaranteed and non-guaranteed overtime that is regularly worked
  • Incentive bonuses
  • Travel time payments (not expenses, but payments for the time spent travelling)
  • Shift premia
  • Seniority payments (payments linked to qualifications/grade/experience)
  • Stand-by payments
  • Certain other payments (such as “flying pay” and “time away pay” provided such payments are not expenses).

In Conclusion

The recent EAT decision will give some comfort to businesses that feared potential back-payments for 16 years’ holiday entitlements by their workforce. However, you must now resolve past liabilities and start paying correctly going forward. This will increase your operating costs. It is estimated to be approximately a 3-5% increase on payroll. The parties have been granted leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal, so the position on this issue may yet change.

Are You Ready for Pension Auto Enrolment? Part Two

Posted on by

Are You Ready for Pension Auto Enrolment? Part Two

All businesses will soon have to provide a pension for their staff. The start date depends on the size of your business. But there’s a lot more to think about than just the date. Last month we brought you five tips to consider (click here to read that blog) and here are five more:

Existing joining methods may be fit for purpose. Many employers believe they will need to change the way they currently join employees to their pension scheme. However, your existing method and processes for joining may already be suitable. For example, if your employees already join the pension scheme via their contract of employment, then there may be no need to introduce a different method. This can also allow all staff to be treated the same way, regardless of their age or income. But it’s likely to mean changing processes and potentially employment contracts, to meet the new legal requirements.

Use waiting periods to fit your business. The majority of employers have used waiting periods aligned with payroll so employees join on the first day of the pay reference period. This avoids having to calculate, explain and manage part payments. But it is also possible to build in a waiting period to avoid one off events such as bonus payments or seasonal increases. Or to allow time to organise contract joining before the auto-enrolment duty kicks-in. But remember while employers can delay assessment and auto-enrolment, they cannot delay the statutory communications to their employees.

Communicate with employees early. Engaging with your employees and clearly communicating the changes in advance of auto-enrolment will make sure that when it happens, they understand why money is being deducted from their pay. This will also ensure they appreciate the value your contribution is adding while reducing employee questions.

Review existing default investment funds. You have a regulatory responsibility to make sure the auto-enrolment default investment option is suitable for your employees that will be enrolled to the scheme. Existing investment solutions may not be appropriate. Advice is crucial to getting this right. You also have a responsibility to have an on-going investment governance framework in place.

Remember to register with the Pensions Regulator. You must register your scheme with the Pensions Regulator within four months of your staging date. Details must be given of your qualifying workplace pension scheme and how you have gone about enrolling employees to the scheme.

 

There is a lot to think about and do when it comes to setting up your company pension. These five tips, combined with the five we gave you last month, give you a good starting point. In the meantime, if you have any questions about pensions, do get in touch.

What Are The Latest Employment Law Updates?

Posted on by

What Are The Latest Employment Law Updates?

On 1 May 2014 we held our latest Employment Law Update workshop, when we looked at some of the recent changes that you need to know about, as an employer. Here is a summary of some of the changes.

  • Workers from overseas – from 1 January 2014, restrictions on working in EU states were lifted for Bulgarian and Romanian workers. Remember to check the right to work in the UK for all employees.
  • Employing illegal workers – from 6 April 2014, the maximum civil penalty for employing an adult subject to immigration control, who does not have the right to work in the UK, increased to £20,000 from £10,000. New guidance has been issued by the Home Office in the “Full guide for employers on preventing illegal working.”
  • Employment Allowance – from 6 April 2014 a £2000 reduction in the NIC bill for all businesses and charities has been introduced. HMRC has a calculator and information you can use here.
  • Employment tribunal fees – from 6 April 2014 some re-categorisation of claims has been done. As a reminder, Type A claims are £160 for the issue fee plus £230 for the hearing fee; Type B claims are £250 for the issue fee and £950 for the hearing fee. Type B claims include unfair dismissal. The Tribunal can order the employer to pay if the claim is successful.

These are just a few of the recent changes and we’ll cover more in future blogs. More changes will continue to be made throughout the year to Employment Law. To keep up to date, subscribe to our newsletter here, keep reading these blogs, or come to our next workshop, which will be held in the autumn.

Are You Ready for Pension Auto Enrolment? Part One

Posted on by

Are You Ready for Pension Auto Enrolment? Part One

All businesses will soon have to provide a pension for their staff. The start date depends on the size of your business. But there’s a lot more to think about than just the date. Here are five tips to consider:

Don’t leave it too late. The auto-enrolment ‘to-do’ list for employers will take some time to complete; don’t leave it to the last minute. Collating data can mean sourcing information from various systems. In addition, enrolling employees to the pension scheme could involve changes to their contracts of employment, which requires a three month consultation period. An early start is ideal – 6 to 12 months ahead of your staging date is ideal.

Understand your key dates. It’s crucial that you not only understand when your staging date is, but also any key company dates such as the pay reference period and payroll cut off. Documenting these dates and then overlaying the new dates when actions need to be completed as a result of pension reform legislation will help gauge the impact on the business. It will also help decision making, such as the need for a waiting period and if so, how long it should be.

Quality of data is key. It’s easy to underestimate the complexity of the data you require. You’ll need data for employee eligibility assessment, joining, contributions and opt outs. Inevitably this will come from different sources and systems. It takes a significant amount of time to do this within payroll cycles and the frequency that this data is needed also adds a layer of complexity. The quality of the data and the processes for sourcing the data for each payment cycle will be crucial to how smoothly that works each pay period.

Choice of contribution basis. Your chosen scheme must meet a quality standard, based around a minimum level of benefit or contribution, so you need to start budgeting for any extra costs. There is more than one acceptable contribution basis and they can be mixed and matched across the workforce to suit different reward mechanisms or pay patterns. What will work best for you? The key point is that the contribution basis and definition of earnings can be chosen to suit your business.

Method of contribution. Salary Exchange should also be considered as this can offer you significant cost saving benefits. However, where salary exchange is being used, this decision should be made prior to the scheme staging, otherwise it can cause additional administration for employers.

There is a lot to think about and do when it comes to setting up your company pension. These five tips give you a good starting point and in a future blog we’ll share with you another five tips. In the meantime, if you have any questions about pensions, do get in touch.

Changes to Employment Law – Can You Keep Up?

Posted on by

Changes to Employment Law – Can You Keep Up?

Twice a year, in April and October, changes are made to UK employment law. There’s a lot that you need to know, so to help you keep abreast of the changes, I’m running one of my very popular workshops to discuss and simplify the changes. It will be held on 1 May 2014 and Hennerton Golf Club, Wargrave, Berkshire. Click here to book your place.

Here’s a summary of some of the proposed changes to due to take place this spring:

  • Power of Employment Tribunal to impose Financial Penalties on employers. The Employment Tribunal will have the power to order an employer who has lost a case to pay a financial penalty, to the Secretary of State, of between £100 and £5,000. The penalty will be imposed where the employer has breached any of the worker’s rights. Tribunal Financial Penalties apply from 6 April 2014.
  • Early conciliation to come into force. Before lodging a claim to the Tribunal, all claimants will need to notify Acas first, where conciliation will be offered. If conciliation is unsuccessful within the set period the claimant can proceed to lodge a tribunal claim. This comes into force on 6 May 2014.
  • Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay increase. The rate of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption rate will increase to £138.18.

In addition, there is this change, to be brought in by the end of 2014:

Managing sickness absence. A health and work assessment and advisory service is to be introduced, offering fee occupational health assistance for employees, employers and GPs. The service can provide an occupational health assessment after four weeks of sickness absence.

To keep your business fully updated, why not book your place on our workshop? The cost is just £10 +VAT, so to reserve your seat, just click here to book online.

Legal HR Update July 2013

Posted on by

In June 2013 a number of changes were made to employment law. Here’s a summary of what you need to know.

1. Qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims over political opinions removed

From 25 June 2013, the two year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims does not apply where the alleged reason for dismissal is, or relates to, the employee’s political opinions or affiliations.

This means that any member of staff who thinks they have been unfairly dismissed due to their political beliefs does not have to have worked for you for at least two years before they can make such a claim.

2. Public interest disclosures no longer required to be in good faith

From 25 June 2013, a disclosure is not protected unless it is, in the reasonable belief of the worker making the disclosure, ‘in the public interest’. Accordingly, an employee who ‘blows the whistle’ about breaches to his or her own employment contract will not normally be protected. The requirement that a protected disclosure must be made in good faith was removed on the same date.

3. Update Service launched by Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

From 17 June 2013, the DBS Update Service allows employers to check the status of criminal record checks online.

This means that you can look up the records of potential employees and current employees too.

If you need to talk about any of these changes in more detail, if you think they affect you, give me a call on 0118 940 3032.