Brexit

On 23 June 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union. A majority of the population voted to Leave, rather than Remain, triggering the start of preparations for the UK withdrawing.

The governments commitment to protecting workers rights following Brexit was reiterated by The Prime Minister using the 2016 Queen’s Speech.

Whilst it is not yet clear what changes there may be to employment law, or when any changes will happen, it is almost certain that there will be some changes. One area that we know will see change is the rights of EU nationals to work in the UK.

The date when the UK is expected to leave the EU (originally the 29 March 2019) was delayed to 31 October 2019. However, this was since delayed again until 31 January 2020, and, on this date, the UK officially left the EU.

Although a withdrawal agreement was successfully negotiated and passed by both the UK and EU Parliament, a transition period is now in place until December 2020 to work out future trade agreements with the EU. Although an extension of this period could potentially happen if necessary, Prime Minister Boris Johnson affirmed in the 2019 General Election that no further extensions to the Brexit process would occur.

Brexit and the coronavirus

There has been no confirmation as yet as to if the 2020 coronavirus outbreak will serve to delay the Brexit transitional period, which is set to end on December 31 2020. However, negotiations between the UK and the EU have been pushed back as all countries work to respond to the developing coronavirus situation, which I currently priority.

Right to work checks will remain the same after Brexit

Until 1 January 2021, the Home Office has confirmed that right to work checks on EU and EEA nationals will continue as normal, under the processes laid out within the prevention of illegal working guidance published in January 2019.

There will be no requirement on organisations to differentiate between those citizens who were resident in the UK before, or after, the date of the exit. Instead, the normal documentary or online right to work checks can be carried out.

Coronavirus Employer & Employee Rights

Legal Implications of Coronavirus for Employers

At present there seems to be a high possibility of a Covid-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Infection rates could be seen to rise to nearly 60% of the population, with 25% suffering from more severe symptoms and 2% will require treatment.

If the Cornavirus spreads like suspected it will have a number of knock on effects, transport, schools, working patterns and more.

As an employer it would be irresponsible to presume that these predictions are exaggerated because we have survived other high-profile diseases and they haven’t spread like we thought they may. Now is the time to take sensible precautions and to prepare yourself for the worst. This could protect you from financial losses and claims in the future.

Your obligations

Contracts of employment contain obligations for you to take care of the health and safety of all of your employees.

Any breaches of these obligations could potentially lead to constructive dismissal claims and employee resignations.

As an employer you also have to follow a common law duty that states you have to take reasonable care of the health and safety of your employees. This includes providing them with a safe place of work.

If the damage was easily foreseeable your employee could bring a personal injury claim against you.

As a business you are subject to a similar obligation found under the Health & Safety at work act(1974) any breaches of this could lead to a criminal prosecution against you.

So it is imperative that you plan and prepare for what could be ahead.

Am I allowed to discipline or dismiss someone who is not ill but is refusing to come to work?

Dependent on the circumstances, yes. First you must take into account any existing conditions that may contribute to irrational or increased anxiety issues.

Do I have to still pay my employee if this happens?

It may well be a good idea for you to do so as the employee has rights to contractual sick pay. However, if the employee is not ill this does not apply. As previously mentioned though, if the employee is suffering from anxiety about the current threat of coronavirus, then they are entitled to the sick pay.

What should I do if my employee comes to work after being in contact with a person infected with the Coronavirus?

To begin with you should make sure that there are clear instructions that staff should not do this and that they should contact you via telephone if they believe they have been in contact with an infected person.

If any of your employees ignore this instruction then you can ask them to go home or to work from home. It is a possibility that you may have to pay your employee should this occur.

Should I impose new safety rules on staff? Do I need to talk to them about the new rules?

If the number of confirmed cases continue to rise as quickly as it has then there will be a duty for you to do so. Even now some would argue that as an employer you have a responsibility to impose these new safety rules.

It’s good practice to consult with all of your management team withing your organisation and to consider your specific needs and operations.

What if my employee chooses to ignore new rules?

If this situation arises then you may be in a position to take disciplinary action. Dependent on the specific circumstances a warning should be implemented first.

Can I adjust working hours to reduce the number of my employees at work at the same time?

Perhaps a good precaution to take if you believe it may reduce a risk of the staff becoming infected. You should however consult with the staff first.

Can I lay people off work or reduce their hours if my revenue becomes affected?

Dependent on if you have stipulated this already in your employee contracts. A well worded disaster recovery plan may give you this right.

 

Neonatal Paid Leave For Parents

Parents of Premature Babies To Be Given 12 Weeks Extra Paid Leave

Plans have been set out in this weeks budget to give neonatal allowance on top of maternity and paternity pay.

The parents of babies that are born premature will receive extra paid leave on top of the existing allowance, this is expected to be announced in this weeks budget.

In addition to the standard maternity and paternity allowance, the new policy that is to be introduced will see that parents of sick children are given statutory paid leave of approximately £160 a week for up to 12 weeks while the child is in neonatal care. The new policy will be available to parents with a newborn child that is in care for longer than a week.

At present the parents of children born prematurely are not entitled to extra leave and its often found that they will spend most of their statutory maternity/paternity leave by their child’s side in hospital. It is estimated that there are around 40,000 children that spend longer than a week in neonatal care.

The exchequer secretary to the Treasury, Kemi Badenoch said that the goverment would incur almost of of the cost of the new policy.

Kemi Badenoch said “creating this groundbreaking new entitlement is the right thing to do” “We also believe it is value for money, because a more supportive workplace environment for employees will be good for business and for the UK economy”

The extra leave policy would fulfil the governments manifesto pledge to introduce a new neonatal care plan.

The found of the charity “The Smallest Things” Catriona Ogilvy who have actively campaigned for the paid neonatal leave, was pleased with the announcement. She said ” As parent who have spent the first days, weeks or even months of our childrens lives in a neonatal intensive care unit, we are over the moon that the worry of work and pay will be eased for the incubator-watchers who follow in our footesteps”

“This will make a large difference to many families at the toughest times in their lives when the health of their babies needs to be their top priority”

Kemi Badenoch has said the the new policy will be in Wednesdays budget and will the first one delivered by Rishi Sunak who has now replaced Sajid Javid as the chancellor of the exchequer.

Statutory Sick Pay – Coronavirus

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that statutory sick pay (SSP) will be paid from day one, not day four, for employees who have the coronavirus.

Announced yesterday , Johnson has stated that employees who self-isolate due to illness should not be ‘penalised for doing the right thing’. He therefore confirmed that, as part of emergency coronavirus legislation, SSP payments will be brought forward to day one of the illness, resulting in an extra payment per person.

The aim is that this will encourage people to stay away from work if they could potentially have been exposed to the virus and help slow down its spreading.

Although it is yet to be confirmed when this would come into law, and exact details are yet to be seen. With the coronavirus situation still developing, it is essential that employers are ready to implement these changes as soon as there has been confirmation.

Current SSP rates are set at £94.25 per week and are set to increase to £95.85 from 6 April 2020.

Leap Year Implications

With Saturday being 29th February, you may be wondering what the implications are in relation to how your staff should be paid.

Whilst many organisations shall carry on as normal, others may be wondering whether they should be paying their employees extra for the additional day’s work.

An employee’s pay entitlements on 29th February 2020 will depend upon whether they are salaried or receive pay according to the hours they work. Employees who receive the same basic pay every month are not entitled to any extra pay despite potentially working on this additional day. This is because, as salaried workers, they are paid a set salary for the year and this extra day will already have been factored in.

The only time this may change is if there is a term explicitly providing additional pay during a leap year within their contract. Although this is likely to be rare, in this situation organisations will need to honour the terms of the contract and provide pay as specified. Organisations should also check if the extra day does not send staff pay below the national minimum on average, which is currently £8.21 per hour for all workers aged 25 and over.

The situation does differ slightly if the individuals concerned are paid according to the hours they work or the amount of work they do. In this situation, they will be entitled to be paid for all of the time worked, which could mean they receive an additional amount if the extra day means they have worked more hours than usual. For example, persons who work irregular shifts and are asked to work on 29th February may end up coming out with more money overall in February.

As the leap year day does fall at a weekend this year, some organisations may not have to consider this issue. Nevertheless, for those that do, it is important that they are aware of any additional expectations placed upon them.

Advice on managing the Coronavirus outbreak

Steps organisations can take in responding to the Coronavirus potentially posing global risks

The Coronavirus, is a potentially lethal condition that bears similarities to SARS. It has already been registered in numerous other countries across the world, including Canada and France and recent confirmation that individuals have also tested positive for the virus in the UK.

In light of this, organisations should be prepared and take steps to try to minimise the dangers posed by this outbreak.

Organisations should not insist that an employee travels to such an area for work related purposes and should advise employees against travel to such areas for both work and holiday purposes.

Alternatives to travel include postponing a trip, and holding meetings via Skype or video conference where possible.

Employees returning from affected areas

Whilst organisations owe a duty of care to employees to take reasonable steps to ensure their health and safety and to protect employees against reasonably foreseeable risks, there is currently no legal obligation to impose a precautionary suspension of non-symptomatic employees returning from holiday or work in an area known to have experienced incidences of Coronavirus. Additionally, suggestions or added pressure from colleagues should not be regarded as a sufficient reason to impose a suspension.

Where a returning employee appears to be symptomatic of potential exposure, they should be referred to their GP and matters taken from there. If the GP determines that they are symptomatic and certifies them unfit for work then they should be treated as off sick as per normal absence procedure. Colleagues who have had contact with the symptomatic employee should be made aware of the symptoms and advised to contact their GP.

If the GP does not certify the employee unfit for work, but the organisation is still concerned, then they may consider briefly suspending them on precautionary grounds.

Suspension

Where an organisation does choose to suspend returning employees just as a precaution, it will have to be on full pay unless the contract gives the employer a right to suspend without pay for this reason. Such a suspension should not be considered a ‘medical suspension’ or be handled as a disciplinary matter.

Employees who have booked annual leave who were planning to visit areas affected by the coronavirus, understandably may wish to cancel their holiday plans at short notice. This may result in requests to postpone holiday dates that have already been agreed by the employer. These requests should be granted where possible, otherwise employees might feel pressured to risk taking the holiday as originally planned.

Jack’s Law – Paid leave for grieving parents

The UK has become the first country to offer grieving parents two weeks’ statutory paid leave. Known as Jack’s Law, the new rules will come into force in April, allowing all working parents who lose a child aged under 18 to take leave as either a single block of two weeks, or as two separate blocks of one week each across the first year after the death. Mother Lucy Herd began campaigning for reform after her son died in 2010. Her-then husband was given just three days leave.

Increased Statutory Sick Pay and Maternity 2020

Government proposes an increase to both maternity and sick pay

Increased rates for family friendly leave and long-term sickness this April.

Following up from last month’s announcement regarding the minimum wage increase, the government have proposed an increase to the existing statutory rates. The Legislation will entitle employees whom qualify to a statutory payments whilst taking a period of sick leave, or ‘family friendly leave’ which includes maternity, paternity and adoption leave. The rates set will be reviewed each year and the increases will be implemented in April 2020.

Statutory maternity rates of pay are set to increase on the 5th of April.

Employees will be entitled to the weekly increased rate of £151.20, up from £148.68, the qualifying criteria will not change. What this means is that anyone whose average weekly earnings are below than this statutory rate will be entitled to receive 90% of their average weekly earnings. Pay rates for employees taking maternity or adoption leave will also be entitled to the same increase again rising to £151.20 weekly.

On the 6th April 2020, a day later statutory sick pay is set to increase, keeping in line with the first Monday of the new tax year. Employees, from this date forward, will then be entitled to £95.85 weekly. Employees will only be able to receive this increase if their earnings are above or equal to the lower earnings cap. At present this stands at £118 per week and it is expected that a new lower earnings limit is set to be announced.

Before April, companies and organisations should review the policies they have in place for statutory leave and make sure that they are all up to date. For organisations that already offer statutory minimum pay for periods of leave should by now already be familiar with how the process works and its very important that the payroll departments understands that they will need to abide by the increased rates. Failure to pay the correct amount could end in a tribunal and can be very costly.

It’s also important to understand how the new rates will impact any employee’s that are already in a period of statutory leave. When the new rates are introduced, existing payments will need to be reviewed and increased where necessary, this will ensure staff are remunerated accordingly.

National Minimum Wage 2020

April’s new NMW rates confirmed

As has become routine in recent years, a new set of minimum wage rates will become effective on 1 April 2020.

Prior to the New Year, the government confirmed several increases to the existing national minimum wage (NMW) rates that will be introduced in April, describing these changes as the ‘biggest ever cash boost’ for UK workers.

The existing structure, which provides separate hourly rates to staff based on separate age categories will remain intact and individuals will benefit from an hourly increase of between 4.6 and 6.5 percent, depending on their age. These new rates are as follows:

  • National Living Wage for ages 25 and above – £8.72 (6.2 per cent increase)
  • 21 to 24-year-olds – £8.20 (6.5 per cent increase)
  • 18 to 20-year-olds – £6.45 (4.9 per cent increase)
  • Over CSA to 17 – £4.55 (4.6 per cent increase)
  • Apprentices under 19, or 19+ but in first year of apprenticeship – £4.15 (6.4 per cent increase)

As a result of these increases, almost three million workers in Britain are set to receive a pay rise of more than four times the rate of inflation. In real terms, this should equate to an increase of around £930 a year for a full time worker who is paid in line with the National Living Wage.

It is also worth remembering that the hourly rates associated with voluntary ‘Real Living Wage’ underwent a similar increase in November 2019, meaning committed organisations are now required to pay staff the enhanced rates of £10.75 per hour in London and £9.20 for the rest of the UK.

In the lead up to April, organisations should work with their payroll department to ensure the new hourly rates are reflected in staff salaries, starting from the relevant pay reference period. Given the different age categories it is imperative that organisations double check information on employees’ dates of birth ahead of time to ensure this is correct.

For clarity’s sake, organisations should also notify staff of the pay rise ahead of time with written confirmation. This transparency is likely to be well received and could help build positive employee relations.

Whilst, there are several months until these new rates are introduced, organisations should avoid leaving preparations until the last minute. After all, failing to implement these new rates on time will place organisations in breach of national minimum wage law and could also lead to significant reputational damage.

New Year, new laws – upcoming changes in 2020

As 2019 draws to a close, here are some key developments to be aware of next year.

CEO pay ratio reporting

From 1 January 2020, UK listed companies who have in a year, on average more than 250 employees are expected to compare their CEO’s most recent remuneration against that of their full time-employees. 

Statement of main terms (SMTs)

The provision of SMTs will become a day one right for employees and workers from 6 April 2020. They will also need to contain additional details for the first time, including entitlement to family friendly leave, clarification of any probationary periods and confirmation of which specific days and times individuals are required to work.

Extension of holiday pay reference period

The holiday pay reference period, which is used to calculate the average pay of those who work irregular hours, will be extended from 12 to 52 weeks from April 2020. It will be important for organisations to keep track of employees’ working time throughout the year, including overtime, to ensure they are correctly remunerated whilst on annual leave.

End of Swedish derogation contracts

Organisations will no longer be able to make use of Swedish derogation contracts from 6 April 2020 as these contracts, which allow employers to avoid providing agency workers with equal pay after 12 weeks’ of an assignment, will become unlawful. 

Agency Workers ‘Key facts’ page

From 6 April 2020, agency work-seekers will have a right to receive a key information document to help them make informed choices about the work they accept. This document is required to clarify specific matters including the type of contract the worker is employed under and their minimum rate of pay.

Increase to minimum wage

As national minimum wage (NMW) rates are reviewed each year, it is reasonable to expect an increase to the existing rates in April 2020. The government has previously pledged to ensure those aged 25 and over will be entitled to a minimum of £10.50 per hour by 2024.  

Parental bereavement leave

The right to parental bereavement leave will also become effective in April 2020. Although no exact date has been confirmed, we know that qualifying parents will be entitled to two weeks of paid bereavement leave following the death of a child under the age of 18.

Government pledges

Although there have been no fixed implementation dates, the government have pledged to improve redundancy protection for working mothers and alter existing legislation around the use of non-disclosure agreements. We are also expecting the results of separate consultations on preventing sexual harassment as well as restructuring the availability of family friendly entitlements and statutory sick pay. However, it is worth remembering that much of this will depend on the new Conservative majority in government.