Updates for April
Below are numerous employment law updates for April 2020
In amongst the chaos of the last month, there are a few employment law updates that you need to be aware of coming up in April.
Parental Bereavement Leave
This new right will come into effect on Monday and will give all employed parents a day-one right to 2 weeks’ leave if they lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. If you are a client and your agreement with us includes a Document Review, we will send you some updated wording to add to your staff handbook as soon as the link goes live on the government website.
Employment Contracts
Contracts of Employment are to be given from day 1 (as opposed to the 2 months we had previously) and this also includes workers now too. Provision of a Worker Contract is a day 1 right for temporary and casual workers.
Holiday Pay
Holiday pay for those working irregular hours or that have varied pay is to be calculated with reference to the previous 12 months (as opposed to 12 weeks).
Rates increases
Maternity Pay, Paternity Pay, Adoption Pay and Shared Parental Leave
To increase from £148.68 to £151.20 (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate)
Statutory Sick Pay
Increases from £94.25 to £95.85
Redundancy Payments and Basic Award
Increases to £538 per week up to a maximum of £16,140
Maximum Compensatory Award in Tribunal
£88,519
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage
From 1 April 2020
- Workers aged 25 and over (National Living Wage) = £8.72 an hour
- Workers aged 21–24 = £8.20 an hour
- Development rates for workers aged 18–20 = £6.45 an hour
- Young workers rate for workers aged 16–17 = £4.55 an hour
- Apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in first year of the apprenticeship = £4.15 an hour
Increase in Compensation Brackets for Injury to Feelings in Discrimination and Whistleblowing cases
- Lower Band - £900 to £9000
- Middle Band - £9000 to £27000
- Upper Band - £27,000 to £45,000
- Exceptional cases - £45,000 - unlimited
If you have any questions about any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.
A full time employee that is over 21 will soon be earning nearly £24,000 per annum which could mean that more employees are close to the minimum wage. Having an employee working close to the minimum wage poses risks to businesses. For example, if an employee works any overtime, they may then fall below the minimum wage.
Kilgannon & Partners outlines key steps to comply with the new UK duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment. Services include risk assessments, policy updates, staff training, and confidential reporting. Contact us for support.
The UK Home Office has expanded its sponsor licence priority services to offer greater flexibility and faster processing for prospective and current sponsors of migrant workers.
Removal of the Pre-Licence Priority Service Cap
Previously, the Home Office limited the number of daily applications for its pre-licence priority service to 30. This daily cap has now been removed. The pre-licence priority service is designed for organisations that have applied for a sponsor licence and seek to bring skilled workers to the UK more swiftly. By paying a £500 fee, applicants can reduce their waiting time from approximately eight weeks to around ten working days.
Kilgannon and Partners are pleased to post that our client, Carmen Chevalier-Firescu, has succeeded in defending an appeal from HSBC about the strike out of her claim in the Court of Appeal. Carmen’s claim was initially struck out by the East London Employment Tribunal. One of the reasons given was that it was not just and equitable to extend time. The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that this needed to be revisited by the Tribunal. This led to HSBC appealing to the Court of Appeal to try and reinstate the original decision.
An employer must check right to work through one of the following three methods before the employee commences employment
Extension of whistleblowing protection: A case of public importance: Disclosures made before commencement of employment and disclosures made by charity trustees.
At Kilgannon and Partners, we are proud to support the movement towards more flexible working arrangements, as emphasised in the recent report by Pregnant Then Screwed. This groundbreaking report sheds light on the transformative impact flexible working can have on employees, employers, and society as a whole.
Unfair dismissal claims are among the most common types of cases brought before employment tribunals. Defending these claims effectively requires careful strategy, meticulous preparation, and a strong understanding of the legal complexities involved. This article outlines key strategies for UK employers to maximise their chances of success in unfair dismissal cases.
The concept of a 4-day work week—where employees work the same number of hours but compressed into four days instead of five—has been gaining momentum globally. With a large-scale UK trials showing overwhelmingly positive results, many businesses are pondering if this could be the future of work.
The Labour Government has set itself a big target to modernise the world of work by promising to introduce legislation within 100 days of entering government.
