April 2020 – Employment Law Changes
There are a number of employment law changes coming into effect on 6th April 2020 and these are summarised below.
Holiday Pay
In the Good Work Plan, the Government committed to improving holiday pay arrangements for seasonal workers. To achieve this, the reference period for calculating a worker’s average weekly pay will increase from 12 weeks to 52 weeks (or the actual number of weeks worked if less than 52).
Employer Action Points
Employers should consider which workers are covered by this new reference period, ensure that pay records from 6 April 2019 to 6 April 2020 are accurate and implement a process which complies with the new holiday pay calculation.
Statement of Terms
Employers are already legally obliged to provide a written statement to employees within 2 months of starting employment. They will now be obliged to provide a written statement to all workers on the first day they start work. The written statement must include details about pay/benefits, working hours, holiday, notice provisions and eligibility for sick leave, maternity leave and paternity leave.
Employer Action Points
Employers should issue written statements to all workers containing these terms and update recruitment processes to ensure that documentation is issued to workers and employees on or before the first day of work.
Extension of IR35 to Private Sector
The IR35 tax rules aim to reduce tax avoidance for off-payroll contractors who are working through personal service companies. Medium and large sized private sector businesses will become responsible for assessing employment status of the off- payroll workers they engage.
Employer Action Points
Employers should review their consultancy arrangements to ensure compliance with these new rules. A good starting point is HMRC’s online tool “Check Employment Status for Tax”.
Parental Bereavement Leave
Employees who lose a child under the age of 18 or suffer a still birth from the 24th week of pregnancy will be entitled to 2 weeks unpaid parental bereavement leave. Employees will have this right from day one of their employment.
Employers Action Points
Employers should have a written parental bereavement leave policy in place which reflects the requirements of the legislation. Employers should also be aware of religious or cultural requirements relating to bereavement (such as a set period of mourning), to avoid the risk of discrimination claims.
For further advice of any of the above changes or any employment related matters, please contact Claire Cole on 01905 726600 or email claire.cole@hallmarkhulme.co.uk
The contents of this article are for purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances