Employment Law Update by Kate Foreman
Payment Increases
The following payment increases should be noted and amended in your employee handbooks where appropriate: The weekly rate of statutory sick pay increased from £ 85.85 to £ 86.70 on 6 April.
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013, making it the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 and opening the door for a number of employment law changes. These include:
• An amendment to the Employment Rights Act 1996, which will mean whistleblowing disclosures will not be protected unless the employee believes they are in the public interest, as well as changes to the‘ good faith’ requirements relating to whistleblowing disclosures.
• From June 2013 the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims will no longer apply where the reason for the dismissal is the employee’ s political opinions or affiliation.
• The Government confirmed that the provisions in the Act simplifying the procedures and costs of deciding tribunal cases will come into force on 25 June 2013.
Later this year
On 7 April, the weekly rate of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay increased from £ 135.45 to £ 136.78.
‘ Real Time Information’
From 6 April, employers are required to report PAYE deductions to HM Revenue and Customs( HMRC) prior to, or at the time of, paying employees rather than at the end of the year, under the new real time information( RTI) scheme( although some employers of a specified size have amended start dates). Employers need to use payroll software to send this information to HMRC electronically. Once an employer is using RTI, it will no longer need to submit forms P14 and P35, as HMRC will have gathered the necessary information throughout the year each time the employer pays its employees.
A number of other changes under the act will come into force in October 2013 or April 2014. These are likely to include:
• shareholders being given binding votes on pay policy;
• repeal of a section of the Equality Act 2010, which makes an employer liable where an individual is harassed by a third party;( seen as too difficult to apply in real terms);
• repeal of the questionnaire procedure under the Equality Act 2010, whereby an individual can apply to obtain information about discrimination from the employer and use this as evidence in tribunal proceedings;
• the addition of‘ caste’ to the definition of‘ race’ under the Equality Act 2010;
• power to be given to tribunals to impose financial penalties against employers where they have been found to have breached employment rights;
• details of a proposed employment tribunal claim to be given to Acas by potential claimants before commencing proceedings, and that Acas will offer the parties the opportunity to engage in conciliation with a conciliation officer;
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