Employment Law Update
Employment Law Update
There are a number of employment
law changes which take affect from 1st 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
1st 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: 1st October 2015
Enforcement
of the National Minimum Wage
From 1st 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: 1st October 2015
Ban on Exclusivity
Clauses in Zero Hour Contracts
Just a quick reminder, since 26th 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 26th May 2015
Fit for Work Service
– Referrals and Tax Exemption
Since 8th 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: 8th
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.
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