Employment legal update Spring 2018

Transcription

1 Employment legal update Spring 2018

2 Employment legal update 20 February We are a sixth of the way through the year and what a start: gender pay is top of the agenda along with the General Data Protection Regulations. So, what s to come during the rest of the year? The Pimlico Plumbers case was heard by the Supreme Court 30 March 6 April 6 April November Gender pay gap reporting deadline for public sector employers Termination payments over 30,000 will be subject to National Insurance Contributions Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2018 in force The Uber case will be heard, giving clarity to workers rights 1 April 4 April April 25 May The National Living Wage increases to 7.83 per hour Gender pay gap reporting deadline for private sector employers New statutory rates for absences and increased statutory rates for sick pay, maternity pay, paternity pay, shared parental pay and adoption pay General Data Protection Regulations in place

3 February Pimlico Plumbers Supreme Court This case was heard by the Supreme Court on 20 February It follows the Employment Tribunal s decision that Mr Smith was held to be a worker, rather than self employed. Appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal by Pimlico Plumbers were dismissed. The outcome is eagerly awaited. March - April Pitmans Law works with employers, ownermanagers, directors, shareholders and senior employees providing the full range of legal employment advice. Gender Pay Gap Reporting By 30 March 2018, public sector employers must report on their gender pay gap. The snapshot date is 31 March 2017 so employers need to determine how many employees were working for the company on that date. For private companies, the deadline is 4 April 2018 and the snapshot date is 5 April The report must be published on the employer s website and on a designated government website. The report must be accompanied by a written statement confirming that the calculations are accurate and must be signed off by an appropriately senior person such as the CEO or a Director. There are six calculations which are: Mean gender pay gap Median gender pay gap Mean bonus gender pay gap Median bonus gender pay gap Proportion of males and females receiving a bonus payment Proportion of males and females in each quartile band Angela Shields Employment Partner D +44 (0) M +44 (0) E ashields@ Payroll As of 1 April 2018, the National Living Wage will increase for workers aged 25 and over to 7.83 per hour. It is currently 7.50 per hour. From April 2018, there will also be new statutory rates for absences and we will see Statutory Sick Pay increase to per week (from 89.35). Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay will also increase to per week (from ). Jonathan Gray Employment Partner D +44 (0) M +44 (0) E jgray@

4 Taxation of Termination Payments As of 6 April 2018, the taxation of termination payments will change. Under the Finance Bill 2017, all payments in lieu of notice (contractual or not) will be subject to deductions of tax and National Insurance Contributions. Termination payments over 30,000 will now be subject to employer National Insurance Contributions as well as the usual deductions of tax. The first 30,000 will continue to be tax free, but these changes will make termination payments more expensive for employers after April 2018 and so this is something to be considered especially if you want to proceed with terminations in Spring Latest increase on Employment Tribunal remedies The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2018 comes into force on 6 April 2018 and sets out the changes to minimum and maximum awards given by the Tribunal. The most notable are the statutory maximum week s pay for redundancy and unfair dismissal basic award going up to 508 from 489, and the increase maximum compensation for an unfair dismissal claim increasing to 83,682 from 80,541. May Pitmans has undertaken a range of employment work for us, covering the full range of HR including drafting contracts and policies, advising on sickness, redundancy, social media and misconduct issues, Settlement Agreements and dealing with sensitive investigations, dismissals and appeals involving privacy and child protection issues. Pitmans always provides a high-quality service. Chief Executive, Berkshire Youth General Data Protection Regulations The General Data Protection Regulations will be introduced into UK law on 25 May We have prepared a handy step by step guide to give businesses an overview of what will be affected. In short, the GDPR are likely to impact the following: Subject Access Requests (will potentially be more frequent and may be more difficult to deal with) Handling of sensitive personal data Record keeping will be more burdensome (records of compliance and noncompliance with the GDPR, and records of any data kept)

5 T he team were brilliant - our success was due to them and their professionalism and has done much to enhance our lives - I would recommend them without hesitation. Towergate November T here s a good mix of character and resources. Also, they re easy to reach. Chambers & Partners Uber By November 2018, the Uber appeal should be heard by the Court of Appeal. We have reported on this throughout the year and it will be an interesting one to watch. It has been a part of several cases relating to the rights of those in the gig economy and, currently, Uber s employees are classed as workers. This gives them certain rights such as the right to holiday pay and the national minimum wage which self employed people are not entitled to. The gig economy has become popular with businesses which has, up until now, enabled them to sidestep employment issues by classing the people who work for them as self employed. The Court of Appeal decision could have huge implications for businesses in the gig economy, and the financial burden it may place on them could result in some businesses finding themselves in financial difficulties. Everyone I have dealt with has been extremely professional, supportive and timely in their advice. Chambers & Partners

6 Additional news Holiday Pay In November 2017, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave its Judgment in Sash Window King, in which Mr King was a salesperson on commission only. He did not receive a salary, or holiday pay or sick pay. Mr King s employment was terminated when he reached 65. He brought claims of age discrimination and unpaid holiday pay. The Employment Tribunal held Mr King to be a worker. The case was appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and then to the Court of Appeal who referred it to the ECJ. The ECJ held that a worker must be able to carry over unused holiday where the employer has prevented the worker from exercising their right to take paid annual leave. Therefore Mr King was entitled to claim for 13 years of holiday pay. This will, also, affect the gig economy employers if the people who work for them are deemed as workers rather than self employed as this will entitle them to claim for backdated holiday pay. The case now goes back to the Court of Appeal for it to apply the ECJ ruling, and the Court of Appeal judgment should be handed down some time in The Tribunal fee barrier removed Following the Supreme Court s decision last year that Tribunal fees are unlawful, it is likely that there will be a significant rise in the number of claims being brought, as people will no longer be required to pay a fee before issuing a claim. However, the mandatory conciliation scheme monitored by ACAS is still in force and a potential claimant will still need to notify ACAS of their intention to bring a claim. The aim of conciliation is to try and facilitate a settlement so as to avoid the need to bring a claim and so the number of claims being brought may not reach the same level they once were. I have to say I m highly confident with the legal advice the business is getting - I ve never come across such a tight and cleverly put together contract. Excellent! T he service the team provided was excellent, they would always go the extra mile. T hey are approachable, responsive and efficient, delivering the employment law answers that were needed, when we needed them. Grandparental leave In March 2016, the Government confirmed its plans to extend shared parental leave and pay to working grandparents by However, to date, no consultations have been issued on this subject and so it appears unlikely that this will occur in If and when shared parental leave is extended to grandparents it may mean an update to policies, contracts and training for HR personnel on how to deal with any requests. As of now, there is no requirement for employers to offer shared parental leave to grandparents, but be mindful that if this gains traction, it will need some consideration.

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