November 2024 Newsletter

The 26th October saw legislation changes for Sexual Harassment.

Employers must take proactive preventative action in respect of their workers and third parties.

There is no cap on sexual harassment compensation awarded by an employment tribunal, like there is with unfair dismissal. Employees can complain to the equality authorities that you are not taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment even when no allegations have been made. Enforcement action against employers includes:

?? Issuing an unlawful act notice and requiring you to put an action plan in place to prevent future breaches

?? Entering into a formal, legally binding agreement with an employer to prevent future unlawful acts

?? Asking the court for an injunction to restrain an employer from committing an unlawful act

Remember, the banter or joke defence rarely offers any mitigation in court and sexual harassment doesn’t need to be directed at a particular?person, if an employee feels intimidated, degraded, humiliated or offended they can claim.

If you need a policy, risk assessment, training or any advice please let me know.

Equal Pay claim against Next (retailer)

An employment tribunal held that it was a breach of equal pay law for Next to pay warehouse staff a higher rate of pay than shop-floor sales staff. The tribunal was clear that cost-cutting alone could not be a legitimate aim and, even if it had been, the payment of different sums to warehouse and retail staff was not a proportionate means of achieving it.

If you have any pay queries, please give me a call.

News!

The government's press release suggests that the focus for funding will be for those at the beginning of their careers and that apprenticeships for the equivalent of a master's degree will no longer be funded by the levy.

Skills England, a body established by the government to tackle skills shortages and support sustained economic growth, has assessed working skills across the country in its first report which was published in October. It analysed the spread of skills across regions and looked at jobs and skills in high demand. It will engage with stakeholders this autumn via round tables and webinars to test and refine its initial assessment of skills needed and also intends to consult about the types of training the growth and skills levy should fund. Watch this space.....

Day one rights to unfair dismissal

The current two year qualifying period will be swept away under the Bill and the right not to be unfairly dismissed will be in place from day one of employment. The Bill allows employers to operate probationary periods during which employees can be dismissed more easily for performance after following a "lighter-touch" process. The Government has committed to consulting on the length of the statutory probation period – its preference is for a period of 9 months. In order to dismiss an employee during this period fairly the employer will have to show that the reason for the dismissal is conduct, capability, a statutory bar, or some other substantial reason "relating to the employee"

Redundancy dismissals are excluded and so unfair dismissal will be a genuine day one right in those circumstances (though the two year qualifying period for a statutory redundancy payment will remain in place).

My advice doesn't change here, actively engage with your new employees during the probationary period and review their performance. It is vital that you have probationary paperwork in place and ensure managers are conducting reviews.

If you would like any help with probationary documentation or would like me to conduct probationary reviews on your behalf please give me a call.

and finally....

The Budget

The budget on 30th October saw the following changes which will affect employment:

National Living Wage to rise in April 2025

The National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 6.7 per cent – a pay rise for over 3 million workers.

The hourly rate for NLW workers moves from ￡11.44 to ￡12.21.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for 18 to 20 year-olds will also rise from ￡8.60 to ￡10.00 an hour, which is the largest increase rate (16.3 per cent) on record.

The 16-17 and apprenticeship rate will increase to ￡7.55 per hour.

NI

Employers National Insurance rates will increase to 15% in April 2025 and it will kick in at ￡5,000.

Let's hope we see a quieter December!

Have a wonderful November - any questions on any of the above please drop me an email or give me a call.