Employment Law Update

Employment Law Update 

Employment Law Update

There are a number of employment law changes which take affect from 1^st October and a few recent developments. In addition to these, we have outlined changes which are approaching in 2016.

National Minimum Wage Increase

Just a quick reminder that as of 1^st October 2015, the national minimum wage for people over 21 will go up from £6.50ph to £6.70ph.

Age	From October 2015	2014-2015 rates
21 & Over	£6.70	£6.50
18 to 20	£5.30	£5.13
16-17	£3.87	£3.79
Apprentices *	£3.30	£2.73

*Apprentices (16-18 years and those aged 19 or over in their first year)

Implementation date: 1^st October 2015

Enforcement of the National Minimum Wage

From 1^st October 2015, tougher laws will be in force by the government for any companies who are not paying the national minimum wage to their workers.  Penalties have been doubled to 200% of the arrears owed up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker.  A new department in HMRC will be set up to identify and enforce the law on any employers that pay below the minimum wage.

Implementation date: 1^st October 2015

Ban on Exclusivity Clauses in Zero Hour Contracts

Just a quick reminder, since 26^th May 2015 employers are unable to enforce exclusivity on workers who are employed under a zero hours contract. This will allow any workers under a zero hours contract to work for another employer and thus giving them more control over their working hours and income. The ban on enforcing exclusivity is seen to redress poor employment practices and give the employee more freedom to boost their income. If you would like to discuss this with Tamar HR please do not hesitate to contact us.

Implementation date: this change was introduced on 26^th May 2015

Fit for Work Service – Referrals and Tax Exemption

Since 8^th September 2015, the government’s Fit for Work scheme was rolled out across England and Wales. The focus is to provide support for employees to get back to work after a period of long term sickness absence.  The scheme will be hugely beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) with little or no access to occupational health support.  To make a referral, the employee must have had, or be expected to have, more than four weeks of sickness absence. A £500 tax exemption (per employee, per year) will be granted towards the cost of medical treatment as recommended by the Fit for Work scheme or relevant health professional. The helpline number for free Fit for Work advice is 0800 032 6235, if you would like to discuss this further please contact one of the team at Tamar HR.

Implementation date: 8^th September 2015

Future Changes to start preparing for:

The New National Living Wage (April 2016)

From April 2016, a National Living Wage will be introduced to all workers over the age of 25. The new rate will be £7.20 per hour. This new rate is being implemented to drive the government initiative of a higher pay, lower welfare state. This is part of a long term programme aimed to increase the National Living Wage to £9.00 by 2020. We appreciate this will have a significant impact  on staffing budgets for clients who employ staff on the current minimum wage.  The changes are likely to impact more on businesses within retail, hospitality and the care industry.  It also has the potential to impact on the difference between the lowest paid workers in your business and the first level of supervisory role.  Given the significant impact of these changes it is timely to review your staffing structures in advance of these changes.    Tamar HR will be pleased to undertake a full review so that you are planning ahead and building capability ahead of the full implementation of the National Living Wage between now and 2020.

Tribunal Fees Set to Continue

There has been a decline in the number of employment tribunal claims since the introduction of Tribunal Claim fees in July 2013, Unison recently lost a further appeal for the fees to be abolished.  The cost of bringing an employment tribunal claim can vary from £390 to £1200 depending on the type of claim.  You will be aware that ACAS offer an ‘early conciliation’ service to try and avoid Tribunal claims, where both parties agree to engage in settlement discussions.  Early conciliation rates have increased which is good news to employers and employees alike. Early conciliation can be far less costly, time consuming and stressful with the main aim of settling disputes earlier than going to Tribunal.