Employment Law Update – A Recap On April 2020 Changes

With many of us returning to a new normality following the COVID-19 pandemic and in a change from furlough news, we thought this would be a good opportunity to remind you about some of the key employment law changes that came into force back in April this year.

With a number of key changes being implemented, it is crucial that all existing policies and procedures are reviewed to ensure that compliance is maintained.

To help, here is a summary of some of the key changes:

Written Statements of Particulars

From 6 April, having a Written Statement of Particulars became a “day one right”. The right now extends to all categories of “worker” and is no longer limited to just employees.

The statements must now include some additional information such as any training and benefits that will be offered and details of any probationary period.

Businesses are therefore advised to check existing contract templates to ensure that the relevant changes are included for any new hires post 6 April.

Holiday Pay

The reference period for determining an average week’s pay for the purposes of calculating holiday pay increased from 12 to 52 weeks.

Tax on Termination Payments

All termination payments above £30,000 are now subject to both income tax and employer National Insurance Contributions. Any existing Settlement Agreement templates or redundancy policies should therefore be altered to reflect these changes.

IR35 Update

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the changes to the off-payroll rules due to come into effect on 6 April 2020 were delayed until April 2021.

From April 2021 the rules for engaging individuals through personal service companies will change. The responsibility for determining whether the off-payroll working rules (sometimes known as IR35) apply will move to the organisation receiving an individual’s services.

Although there has been a pause in the implementation of these rules, businesses should continue to review any contractor arrangements that are in place to ensure compliance come April 2021.

Parental Bereavement Leave

Working parents who lose a child under the age of 18 will qualify for two weeks bereavement leave. This leave can be taken at any time in the period of 12 months after the child’s death.

Staff with over 26 weeks service and weekly average earnings over the lower earnings limit are entitled to receive Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay during the period of leave.

Changes to Rates and Limits

The Government announced its annual increase to compensation limits:

A week’s pay, for unfair dismissal basic award and statutory redundancy purposes, increased to £538.

The maximum amount for compensatory awards for unfair dismissal increased to £88,519.

The National Living Wage (for workers aged 25 or over) increased to £8.72 per hour.

Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay increased to £151.20.

Statutory Sick Pay increased to £95.85.

If you are concerned about the effect that these changes will have on your business, please contact Emma Spandrzyk in our employment team for a free risk assessment on your existing policies and procedures. Emma can be contacted on e.spandrzyk@timms-law.com or 01530 564498.

 

Emma Spandrzyk
August 2020