April 2018 Newsletter

Elcons Employment Law Consultants Ltd

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1st April 2018 Statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay and statutory shared parental pay from £140.98 to £145.18 per week.

1st April 2018 National Minimum/Living Wage increases:• Apprentices: £3.70 an hour.• 16-17-year olds: £4.20 an hour.• 18-20-year olds: £5.90 an hour.• 21-24-year olds: £7.38 an hour. • The national living wage aged 25 and over will also increase to £7.83.

6th April 2018 Lower earnings limit increases from £113 gross average weekly earnings to £116; this is important when assessing an employee’s eligibility for statutory payments.

6th April 2018 SSP increases from £89.35 to £92.05 per week.6th April 2018 A maximum week’s pay for calculation of redundancy payments and

unfair dismissal basic award increased from £489 to £508.

6th April 2018 The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal increased from £80,541 to £83,682.

25th May 2018 General Data Protection Regulations come in to force.

6th April 2019 Where wages vary according to time worked, a payslip must state the number of hours being paid.

6th April 2019 Employers will be required to pay Class 1A national insurance contributions on termination payments above £30,000 that are subject to tax by the employee.

Expected 2020 Parental bereavement leave rights are expected to come in to force.

Recent & Forthcoming Changes

GDPR - Do you need a Data Protection Officer?

As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) launch date fast approaches (25th May 2018) we are being asked by clients, “Do I need to appoint a Data Protection Officer?”

A Data Protection Officer (DPO) is a designated position of responsibility defined in the GDPR to ensure an organisation’s compliance with Data Protection Law and Regulation.Although many of you have assigned someone to look after data for your business there is a specific requirement for those whose “core activities involve systematic monitoring or large-

scale processing of sensitive personal data” to have a dedicated person as their Data Protection Officer. In the main this impacts the Financial Services sector.

Although we cannot advise directly as to whether you will require a dedicated DPO or not, the Information and Commissioners Office (ICO) have a helpline and will assist with advice as to whether you will require a DPO under the Regulations:• From inside the UK 0303 123 1113 • From outside the UK +44 1625 545 700.

Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

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High Street Employers in the Media – Breaches of National Minimum

Wage (NMW) Regulations

An

Competition TimeWhich one of our Advisors used to live next door

to the King of Jordan?

Answers by email to johannam@elcons.co.uk

Unions and legal experts are warning that employers may face fines and demands for back payments of wages. This comes as policies around uniforms, improper reimbursement of expenses and ‘genuine mistakes’ are blamed for nearly 200 employers failing to pay the minimum wage.

Since naming and shaming employers began in October 2013 the government has published 13 lists of lawbreakers. The inevitability of negative publicity now comes with being found to be in breach.

In 2017, Argos topped the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) list for breaching the minimum wage regulations due to staff being expected to attend unpaid briefings and undergo lengthy security checks outside of their working hours. With Sports Direct and Primark closely following among the 260 UK employers who were also named and shamed, for failing to abide by the national minimum wage and national living wage rules. Last week’s figures from BEIS showed that retail, hospitality, and hairdressing were the worst offending sectors.

Restaurant chain Wagamama’s topped this year’s list of individual employers, underpaying a total of £133,212 to 2,630 employees, followed by TGI Fridays who have failed to pay £59,348 to 2,302 staff.

Karen Millen and Marriott Hotel Group were also among the 179 other UK based employers in a March report in which the government confirmed had failed to pay nearly 10,000 workers the correct minimum wages. Collectively they will be required to compensate their workers totalling £1.1m in back pay and have received government fines of £1.3m.

Employers paying National Minimum Wage/ National Living Wage need to be aware that expecting staff to fund their own uniforms, failing to pay; overtime, time spent attending meetings and job-related travel expenses or requiring staff to arrive early for shift are all reasons for the incorrect payment of salaries and are some of the main reasons that the salaries fall below the national minimum wage threshold.

In Wagamama’s case, the breach came about because the company did not provide a uniform: Wagamama’s gave staff T-shirts that they expected to be worn with black skirt or trousers. However, “by not paying for the additional items, the restaurant breached minimum wage regulations.”

BEIS states very clearly that additional payments such as tips, service charges and premiums for working at unsociable times should not count towards wages and are factors which may lead to underpayment of wages if factored in to hourly wage amounts.

Businesses that breach the regulations, simply by paying below the minimum wage, improperly offsetting other costs or by understating hours worked may be found out. The BEIS fines come ahead of the April 2018 national minimum wage increase, following recommendations from the Low Pay Commission.

If you require advice on any of your wage / salary issues do not hesitate to contact your Elcons Advisor.

Do you have a Childcare Voucher Scheme in place?Following mounting pressure and slight panic regarding the ending of new applicants being able to join existing childcare voucher schemes which was due to take place in April 2018, a vote at the House of Commons meeting on 13th March has decided in favour of keeping existing schemes open to new entrants for a further six months.

New entrants may join existing schemes now until October 2018 despite the replacement scheme already being operational.

Current schemes allow working parents to allocate up to £55 per week from their gross salary for childcare vouchers giving then a tax-free benefit. The replacement scheme for working parents (including self-employed individuals) gives top-up contributions to those earning more than £120 per week but less than £100,00 per year. The aim is to help working parents meet up to £10,000 a year of childcare costs for every child under 12 years.

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Do you provide the right workplace facilities to your staff?You must provide the right workplace facilities for everyone in your workplace, including people with disabilities. However, this does not have to be complicated or time consuming. So, what is required?

Welfare facilities For your employees’ well-being you need to provide:

• toilets and hand basins, with soap and towels or a hand-dryer;• drinking water; • a place to store clothing (and somewhere to change if special clothing is worn for work); • somewhere to rest and eat meals.

Health issues To have a healthy working environment, make sure there is:

• good ventilation – a supply of fresh, clean air drawn from outside or a ventilation system;• a reasonable working temperature (usually at least 16°C, or 13°C for strenuous work, unless other laws require lower temperatures);• lighting suitable for the work being carried out;• enough room space and suitable workstations and seating;• a clean workplace with appropriate waste containers.

Safety issues To keep your workplace safe, you must:

• properly maintain your premises and work equipment;• keep floors and traffic routes free from obstruction; have windows that can be opened and also cleaned safely; • make sure that any transparent doors or walls are protected or made of safety material.

Need more advice and guidance?Please check in with your Elcons Advisor.

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Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations and what the Taylor Review Recommends...The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 came into force on 6 April 2005 for undertakings with at least 150 employees. They extended to undertakings with 100 or more employees from 6 April 2007 and from 6 April 2008 to undertakings with 50 or more employees.

The Regulations outlined that employees in organisations with over 50 staff are entitled to be consulted on changes to the organisation. It was anticipated that companies with over 50 staff would develop ways and means to consult with employees and some did indeed form Employee Committees. Why is this popping up now you might ask?

One of the Taylor review findings highlights that “Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations have been underutilised”

We will keep you up to date with any further developments.

Are you doing enough for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) staff?A few alarming facts and figures….

• 51% of Transgender employees hide their identity at work• 12% of Transgender employees have been physically attacked by colleagues or customers in the past year• Traditional blue-collar environments see the most discrimination compared with office (white collar)

Companies have a legal obligation towards LGBT workers under the Equality Act 2010, which states “staff should not be discriminated against over their age, race, sexuality, gender or gender identity”.

What are the risks if you get it wrong?

At the very least – grievances, demotivated employees, but also Tribunal Claims which are ‘UNCAPPED’!

Negative publicity: either via social media or the online Tribunal site. The costs of negative publicity on your company’s image and the effects that draconian views and illegal practices could have on you as a supplier to your potential clients PLUS to the people who may want to work for you could well outweigh any Tribunal or settlement costs.

So, what should you do about it?

1. Ensure you have a policy / your Handbook fully covers your total support of LGBT and company views of discrimination of any type2. Ensure all employees know what is expected of them and the consequences of failing to follow these rules3. Ensure that you are non-discriminatory in all working and recruitment practices4. Attend Elcons’ complimentary training on a Wednesday morning 5. Speak to your advisor at Elcons