Changes to Bank Holidays – 2011 and 2012

Legislation within the UK allows dates of bank holidays to be changed and additional days to be declared for special occasions.

In the next two years we have 2 extra bank holiday days being added and a change of date for the late May bank holiday.

In 2011 – there will be an extra Bank Holiday for the Royal Wedding on 29th April 2011

In 2012 – there will be an extra Bank Holiday added for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on Tuesday 5th June 2012

In 2012 – the late May Bank Holiday will be moved to Monday 4th June 2012

How employers need to deal with the additional bank holidays will depend upon the wording within the contracts of employment and the approach taken by employers.

Generally, for employers who meet the statutory minimum holiday requirements (28 days including bank holidays for someone working 5 days per week), there will be no legal obligation to honour this additional time off and employees have no automatic right to paid time off for the additional bank holidays.  However, if your contracts state that employees annual leave entitlement is in addition to bank holidays, then the employee will be entitled to receive the additional bank holidays as paid time off.

In order to encourage employee motivation, we would advise employers, that even if their employees are not entitled to benefit from the extra bank holidays, that they are more lenient and allow the extra days off or put other provisions in place i.e allow greater flexibility for booking holidays, providing television facilities at work to allow staff to watch the royal wedding or allowing employees to make up any lost working time where convenient.

We will be happy to offer additional advice on entitlements to the additional bank holidays and/or calculation of holiday entitlements – please call us on: 01280 817341 or E.mail: info:blackdoghr.com

Amendment to Flexible Working

The updated Flexible Working (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) (Amendment Regulations 2010 will come into force on 6 April 2011.  They amend the main Flexible Working (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) Regulations 2002 by widening one of the conditions under which employees may request a flexible working arrangement. 
This means that employees who have previously been able to request flexible working arrangements to care for a child under 17 (disabled under 18), will from 6 April 2011, be able to make the request for any child under 18

What this means in practice is that the current statutory right to request flexible working is being extended to parents of children under 18 from 6 April 2011 (it currently applies to parents of children under 17, parents of disabled children under 18 and also to carers of certain adults).

New statutory payment amounts announced for 2011

The government has announced the proposed new rates for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) for tax year 2011/12.  They are as follows:

* The standard weekly rate of SMP and the weekly rates of SPP, SAP and Maternity Allowance will rise from £124.88 to £128.73 – it is not clear whether this will be for payment weeks starting on or after Sunday, 3 April 2011 or on or after Sunday, 10 April 2011.
* The weekly rate of SSP will rise from £79.15 to £81.60 from 6 April 2011.
* The lower earnings limit for qualifying for SSP, SMP, SPP and SAP will rise from £97.00 to £102.00 per week from 6 April 2011.

New compensation limits for 2011 

The limits applying to certain awards from employment tribunals and to other amounts payable under employment legislation have been increased and will come into force on 1st February 2011, as listed below:

* The maximum amount of a ‘week’s pay’ for calculating redundancy payments, compensation for unfair dismissal or in cases of insolvency – increases from £380 to £400.
* The limit of compensatory for unfair dismissal – increases from £65,300 to £68,400.
The daily amount of statutory guarantee payment, in cases of lay off – increases from £21.20 to £22.20

The increases apply where the event giving rise to the entitlement to compensation or other payment occurs on or after 1 February 2011.  The date is determined differently depending on the type of claim brought.  In unfair dismissal claims, this date is the effective date of termination of employment.  In guarantee payment claims, it is the day in respect of which the payment is due.

The increases reflect an increase of 4.6% in the retail prices index from September 2009 to September 2010.

Call for extra bank holiday

A Conservative MP has launched a Private Members Bill calling for an extra bank holiday in both England and Wales.  The St George’s Day and St David’s Day Bill 2010-11, put forward, calls for a new bank holiday in England on St George’s Day and in Wales on St David’s Day. 

It calls for the Bank holiday to be in effect from 2012.  The second reading is due for May 2011.

Workplace Auto Enrolment Pensions 2012

An independent review of the automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has taken place with the following findings and recommendations:

The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) will be the new low-cost workplace pension scheme that will be the vehicle for saving for employers who do not offer their own scheme.

For the first time, employers will have to make pensions contributions for eligible workers from 2012.

The key changes to the scheme to be implemented as a result of the independent review are:

* Aligning the earnings threshold at which an employee is automatically enrolled into a workplace pension with the personal allowance for income tax (£7,475 from 6 April 2011) and aligning the threshold at which pension contributions become payable with the National Insurance primary threshold – workers can opt in to saving and receive an employer contribution if they earn between these two thresholds.
* Introducing an optional waiting period of up to three months before an employee needs to be automatically enrolled, though employees may opt in during the waiting period – this will ease the burden on those employing large number of temporary workers.
* Simplifying the process for employers to certify that their money purchase scheme meets with required contribution levels.
* Introducing further deregulatory measures to reduce burdens on employers.

Automatic enrolment will apply to all employers regardless of size.

The largest employers are scheduled to be brought into the reforms in October and November 2012, although the proposal is that they should be allowed to automatically enroll ahead of the planned start date of October 2012, and as early as July 2012, if they wish to do so.

New research from the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) has found that two-thirds of the UK’s smaller firms offer no pension scheme and the pension schemes run by smaller firms are attracting a combined employer and employee contribution of less than 8% of earnings; these will not meet the requirements of new Auto enrolment scheme due to be introduced in 2012.

Please contact us for any advice your requirements or for updates to Retirement Policies or employment documentation.  info:blackdoghr.com

Equality Act could make Compromise Agreements ‘unenforceable’

Since the introduction of the Equality Act in October 2010 discussions have been held regarding the role a solicitor can play in advising an employee independently both before and after a Compromise Agreement has been raised, for fears of making the agreement unenforceable, if a potential equility claim was subsequently rasied.

The Equality Act (section 147) states that the complainant must receive advice from an “independent advisor” about its terms and effect.  The ambiguous wording of the act, indicates that any solicitor consulted by an employee will then be said to be acting on their behalf and not therefore acting independently.  This could result in the Compromise Agreement being unenforceable by the employer. 

The Law Society released a statement indicating that, “a solicitor who was instructed by the employee prior to the production of the final contract for consideration; or who has acted in any way for the employee during the course of his complaint – even in a supporting role to the lead adviser perhaps as holiday cover – will be precluded from acting any further as an independent legal adviser in that compromise contact.”

According to the guidance issued by The Law Society, “The effect of this is that there is no way in which compromise agreements under the Equality Act can be made enforceable.”

It has been suggested that there could now follow a period of uncertainty while the matter is clarified, and this could continue even if the Act is redrafted.  It may be that another Act is required to clarify the wording contained within section 147 of the Equality Act.

At Black Dog HR Consultancy Ltd we would advice that an employer still uses a Compromise Agreement in appropriate circumstances, however additional provisions will need to be considered for a potential claim under the Equality Act.

We are happy to advice on difficult employment situations and make appropriate arrangements for you.  Tel: 01280 817341

Health & Safety

SNOW – What should you do?

hen snow falls there is usually confusion over whether employees should come in, are there liability issues in the event of an accident, should walkways be cleared etc.

Well to put it simply, there is not a problem requesting employees to come in, but you do need to take into account the travel conditions and the type of the work the person does.

If they can work from home then that is usually the best option.

If they have to travel to a Clients site and are expected to work outside then careful consideration is required (i.e. working on a snow covered roof is going to difficult to justify).

So ideally you need to revisit your risk assessments and make a considered decision. I would recommend basing it on a simple question:

Can you manage the increased risks associated with the weather?

Should you clear and grit paths and car parks of snow?

The simple answer is YES (especially to the paths as a failure to do so resulting in an injury to an employee or visitor would almost certainly see the Company held liable). This is also required under the Health & Safety Work Act where the occupier has a duty to ensure a safe means of access (and egress) to and from the place of work.

So if you decide to clear, then you should also:

1. Ensure any surfaces are then gritted.
2. Suspend any dress code that requires unsuitable footwear to be worn. 
3. Consider laying additional matting down at entranceways to absorb melting snow (especially if the flooring is hard).

If you require any assistance with any Health and Safety issues please contact either Rialto Health & Safety or Black Dog HR and we will be only too pleased to help. 
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it         or         This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
01933 666990                    01280 817341

Special Points of Interest

National Minimum Wage - Amendment. 2

The amendment means that tax-free expenses paid to a worker to cover their travel home from a temporary workplace and to the temporary workplace from home, will no longer count towards national minimum wage pay.

Employers not paying Minimum Wage to be named

It was announced last September that employers who deliberately flout the National Minimum Wage rules will be publically named with effect from 1st January 2011.
 

Increase in the number of threats and abuse at work in 2010

Preliminary results from USDAW’S annual survey of violence at work suggest that over a million shop workers have been assaulted, threatened or abused in the last year.

The survey shows that in the past 12 months, 6% of shop workers were subjected to violent attack, 38% were threatened for harm and 70% have suffered verbal abuse.  Reported incidents of assault reduced slightly, whilst incidents of threats and abuse increased in 2010.

Construction firm fined £1M after worker fell to his death

Two companies have been sentenced following the death of a construction worked in Accrington.  One of the companies was fined £1M over the accident, for putting workers at risk.

The 55-year-old had been working on a project to build three new office blocks when he fell five metres from scaffolding as a result of an unsecured board giving way.

Businesses Affected by immigration cap may now seek redress

The interim limit was introduced in July 2010 to control the number of visas granted to skilled and highly skilled workers.  This was a temporary measure until the annual limit took effect in April 2011.

Last week the High Court ruled that the Government’s interim limit was unlawful.