Redundancy and pregnancy or other family friendly rights
There are some new rules around redundancy where the employee is pregnant, on maternity leave, adoption leave, or shared parental leave.
Author: Adrian Marlowe
Employment policy update for April 2024
April 2024 sees changes to the rules around paternity leave, flexible working and time off for carers, all of which demand some attention.
Minimum wage changes April 2024 – are you ready?
For 1st April 2024 the national living wage rate has increased from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour. However, this is not the only change taking place .
Rolled up Holiday Pay – Good News for recruiters
For leave years starting from the 1st of April 2024, businesses are now legally permitted to provide holiday pay on a ‘rolled up’ basis and should calculate leave and pay entitlement at a fixed rate. BUT ONLY FOR irregular hours or part year workers.
Draft bill threatens worker status and agency supply
One of the key advantages of hiring an agency worker is the very low risk of a claim for employment rights by the worker against the hirer. This position has been challenged many times over the years, but remains legally secure as things stand. Now however there is a new challenge, the Status of Workers Bill, which has recently been proposed by the House of Lords to create a single status for workers as employees, in effect demolishing worker status altogether.
Seminar on Holiday Pay and EAS Compliance Inspections
After years of controversy, rolled-up holiday pay is to be allowed for agency workers and others from April 2024, but subject to complex rules on application and calculation. This means that agencies who supply temporary workers will need to get to grips with how the new rules operate. At the same time, more and more agencies are being […]
Protecting your business when working with Umbrellas
HMRC has recently updated guidelines for umbrellas, and individuals who work through an umbrella. There has also apparently been a surge in umbrella accreditation services. Does accreditation actually address the issues identified in the government’s consultation on how to regulate the umbrella company market which was announced earlier this year?
Roll up, roll up – Holiday pay rules set to change
Following two government consultations on holiday pay in 2023 draft legislation has now been published to change the rules. The current law has been in place since the advent of the Working Time Regulations in 1998 but due to Brexit and the Supreme Court decision in Harpur v Brazel, which caused considerable confusion in practical terms, there has been a need for clarification particularly on the issue for temporary workers including agency workers.
The low down on Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspections of recruitment businesses
The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) is a section of the Department of Business and Trade. It’s responsible for enforcing compliance with the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 (Conduct Regulations) and has extensive powers to ensure recruitment businesses operate within the law. It is currently increasing its inspections of recruitment businesses, here are some points to note.
Company Opt-Out: What does it mean? Why it’s a win-win
‘Opt out’ refers to a pivotal choice made by both a limited company and the individual working through it when working with a contractor supply agency. In effect it’s an agreement that regulations designed to protect agency workers don’t apply to the contracts put in place. The regulations are the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (the “Conduct Regulations”), which impose various obligations on supply agencies to ensure that agency workers are not exploited.
