Gustav Patrick | Employment Lawyer

The Government has announced the National Minimum Wage rates for 2013/2014.

From 1 October 2013 the National Minimum Wage will be:

£6.31 – for workers aged 21 and above (an increase of 1.9% on 2012′s rate of £6.19 despite inflation rates of between 2.2% and 3.8% for 2012/2013)

£5.03 – for workers aged 18-20 (an increase of 1.0% on 2012′s rate of £4.98 despite inflation rates of between 2.2% and 3.8% for 2012/2013)

£3.72 – for workers aged 16-17 and workers above school leaving age but under 18 (an increase of 1.0% on 2012′s rate of £3.68 despite inflation rates of between 2.2% and 3.8% for 2012/2013)

£2.68 – for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship (an increase of 1.1% on 2012′s rate of £2.65 despite inflation rates of between 2.2% and 3.8% for 2012/2013)

£4.91 – accommodation offset, the maximum per day that can be deducted from minimum wage for accommodation provided by the employer (an increase of 1.8% on 2012′s rate of £4.82. Of course an increase in accommodation offset means a decrease in cash paid to an employee on national minimum wage).

National Minimum Wage from 2010 – 2014

For more details see here:
http://news.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/Government-approves-new-National-Minimum-Wage-rate-of-6-31-68b14.aspx
National Minimum Wage

Gustav Patrick
Employment Lawyer

As of 1 February 2013 the following changes will take effect. The changes only affect claims where the date of dismissal falls on or after 1 February 2013:

Increase in Redundancy Entitlement

Statutory redundancy is based on an employee’s gross weekly pay which is subject to a maximum cap of £430.00. That maximum cap will increase on 1 February 2013 to £450.00 as will the same cap on unfair dismissal basic awards meaning that employees who are made redundant after that date may be entitled to a larger payment than those who are made redundant earlier.

In 2012 the maximum Continue reading…

I have noticed a large number of people coming to my site searching for “compromise agreement calculator” and feel that I ought to explain why I do not have one on my site and why you should NOT use such a calculator. I am aware that such calculators exist but they are purely an attempt to get your business and do not in any way reflect how much or how little any particular compromise agreement should be worth. I put my details into an online compromise agreement calculator to test it out and it told me that I should be paid no less than £10,000.00. In reality I know that it should have been more like £500.00.

If your employer has suggested a compromise agreement to you Continue reading…

As of 1 October 2012 National Minimum Wage has increased to the following:

£6.19 – for workers aged 21 and above (an increase of 1.8% on 2011′s rate of £6.08 despite inflation rates of between 2.5% and 5.2% for 2011/2012)

£4.98 – for workers aged 18-20 (remaining the same as 2011′s rate despite inflation rates of between 2.5% and 5.2% for 2011/2012)

£3.68 – for workers aged 16-17 and workers above school leaving age but under 18 (remaining the same as 2011′s rate despite inflation rates of between 2.5% and 5.2% for 2011/2012)

£2.65 – for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship (an increase of 1.9% on 2011′s rate despite inflation rates of between 2.5% and 5.2% for 2011/2012)

£4.82 – accommodation offset, the maximum per day that can be deducted from minimum wage for accommodation provided by the employer (an increase of 1.9% on 2011′s rate of £4.73. Of course an increase in accommodation offset means a decrease in cash paid to an employee on national minimum wage)

National Minimum Wage

Gustav Patrick
Employment Lawyer

14 September 2012 Employment Law Consultations Update Summary

Settlement Agreements

A template settlement agreement has been published in the government’s consultation on ending the employment relationship (14 September 2012). For a copy of the Settlement Agreement please click here.

 Unfair Dismissal Compensation Limit

The proposal is to limit the compensatory award in unfair dismissal claims to £26,000 or one year’s net salary. This represents a large reduction on the current rate of £72,300.

More information can be found here:

Ending the Employment Relationship

A more detailed summary will follow. 

Gustav Patrick

Employment Lawyer

The Ministry of Justice has announced the results of its consultation on the introduction of fees to employment tribunals.

Under the proposals which are likely to come into force in late 2013 there will be two levels of claim. Level one will include the most simple and straightforward claims such as unpaid wages, notice pay, holiday pay etc. Level two will include the more common claims such as unfair dismissal and discrimination.

Level one claims will attract an issue fee (to start the claim) of £160.00 and a hearing fee of £230.00. Continue reading…

It has been established since 2009 that if an employee falls ill before a period of annual leave they can reschedule that annual leave and will not lose their entitlement to it.

It has now been confirmed by the European Court of Justice that if a worker becomes sick during annual leave he must be entitled to reschedule that period of the annual leave for which he is unwell. Therefore if a worker books 10 working days’ holiday and becomes sick for 5 of those days he will be entitled to reschedule those 5 days annual leave and it will be as though he has only taken 5 days’ annual leave. Continue reading…

Earlier this year when the maximum redundancy entitlement was increased I was amazed at how many out of date redundancy calculators there were online (and how few have implemented the increase even at today’s date). In fact there are some out there which are several years out of date (The Guardian being one of the worst offenders – their calculator is  more than 3 years out of date which could mean calculations being wrong by up to £2,400) and it is a little concerning to think that  some employers/employees may be relying on these calculators. So I decided to have a go at making my own redundancy calculator that I could keep up to date myself. Continue reading…

It is (generally) unlawful for an employer to make deductions from an employee’s wages unless it has been agreed (section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA)). If you are due your wages on the 1^st of the month and you are not paid until the 5^th of the month Continue reading…

As of 1st April 2012 statutory maternity pay, paternity pay and adoption pay will increase to £135.45 and the ‘weekly earnings threshold’ will rise to £107.00.

As of 6th April 2012 statutory sick pay will increase to £85.85 and the ‘weekly earnings threshold’ will also increase to £107.00.

As of 9th April 2012 maternity allowance will increase to £135.45. Continue reading…

On 1 October 2012 the National Minimum Wage will increase to the following:

For workers aged 21 and over the rate will be £6.19 per hour.
For workers aged between 18 and 20 the rate will be £4.98 per hour.
For workers aged under 18 but above compulsory school age (who are not apprentices) the rate will be £3.68 per hour.
For apprentices the rate will be £2.65. Continue reading…

The government has published The Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (SI 468/2012) (available here)  which makes various amendments to the Employment Tribunal Rules. The changes come into force on 6 April 2012 and apply to all cases brought to a tribunal on or after 6 April 2012.

The reading of witness statements Continue reading…

The government has announced that as of 6 April 2012 the qualifying period for an employee to bring an unfair dismissal case will increase from one year to two years. The Order does not yet have parliamentary approval, but it is expected in the coming weeks. The Order also increases the period of continuous employment required to be entitled to a written statement of reasons for dismissal from one year to two years.

What this change means…

If your employment started before 6 April 2012 then this change in legislation will not affect you. If your employment starts on or after 6 April 2012 then you will not be able to bring a claim for unfair dismissal unless you have been employed for two years or more. If your employment starts on or after 6 April 2012 you will not be entitled to a written statement of reasons for your dismissal unless you have been continuously employed for two years or more. Continue reading…

(For redundancy entitlement and calculations click here)

A number of recent press releases are suggesting that we may see a further increase in the number of redundancies in 2012. A quick search for the word on Google news throws up thousands of results, at the time of writing headlines include:

£10.7m bill for 756 council job losses ‎
350 TV Licensing workers in danger of redundancy
‎Ulster Bank to shed 950 jobs ‎
Almost 900 BAE workers face redundancy

So, what should you expect if your employer becomes one of the many who are likely to make redundancies this year? Continue reading…

As promised when I posted this story in October Emma Czikai loses her claim against Britain’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden - here is a copy of the judgment in the case:

MISS E A P CZIKAI v 1 FREEMANTLE MEDIA LTD 2 SIMCO LTD 3 MR S COWELL 4 MS A HOLDEN UKEAT060610DM

 (with thanks to the Tribunals Website)

Gustav Patrick

Employment Lawyer

**Please note that these figures will change again on 1 February 2013, an update has been posted here: Increase in Redundancy and Unfair Dismissal Compensation 2013/2014.

As of 1 February 2012 the following changes will take effect. The changes only affect claims where the date of dismissal falls on or after 1 February 2012:

Increase in Redundancy Entitlement

Statutory redundancy is based on an employee’s gross weekly pay which is subject to a maximum cap of £400.00. That maximum cap will increase on 1 February 2012 to £430.00 as will the same cap on unfair dismissal basic awards meaning that employees who are made redundant after that date may be entitled to a larger payment than those who are made redundant earlier.

In 2011 the maximum statutory redundancy entitlement (with the £400.00 per week cap) was £12,000.00.

The maximum statutory redundancy entitlement in 2012 (with the £430.00 per week cap) will be £12,900.00.

Click here to calculate your statutory redundancy entitlement. Continue reading…

Equal Pay Claims by Birmingham City Council Employees were Upheld in the Court of Appeal, but What Does it Mean for the future of Equal Pay Claims?

What is equal pay?

The issue of equal pay was originally dealt with under the Equal Pay Act 1970 which was replaced by the Equality Act 2010 in October 2010. The judgments to which I refer below were made under the Equal Pay Act 1970. The provisions of the two Acts in relation to equal pay are largely the same, so the judgments below should be applicable to the new legislation. In order to avoid any confusion I will refer exclusively to the Equality Act 2010.

Section 66 of the Equality Act 2010 implies an equality clause into all contracts of employment that employees shall be treated no less favourably than their counterparts of the opposite sex. It therefore follows, for example, that a female employee shall not be paid less than her male counterpart (as this would constitute less favourable treatment). Continue reading…

The first person to be convicted of an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 was sentenced to 6 years in the Southwark Crown Court on 18 November 2011.

On 14 October 2011 Mr Munir Yakub Patel became the first person to be convicted under the Bribery Act 2010. He was a 22-year-old magistrates’ clerk at Redbridge Magistrates’ Court when he accepted a £500 bribe in order to ‘overlook’ a speeding charge. Mr Patel was convicted under section 2 of the Act which makes it an offence to…

“request, agree to receive or accept a financial or other advantage intending that, in consequence, a relevant function or activity should be performed improperly.” Continue reading…

The first person to be convicted of an offence under the Bribery Act 2010, Munir Yakub Patel, was supposed to be sentenced on 11 November 2011 in the Southwark Crown Court. For unknown reasons it was not listed on the day. The Sentencing has been re-listed for 18 November 2011 – I will publish the sentence when it is available – subscribe by rss to get notified when it is published.

Click here to find out what he was sentenced to: http://www.gustavpatrick.co.uk/Employment-Law-Blog/2011/bribery-act-2010-sentence/

Gustav Patrick – Employment Lawyer

The TV talent show floodgates remain firmly closed

…thanks to the Employment Appeals Tribunal’s latest decision in Miss E A P Czikai v Freemantle Media Ltd, Simco Ltd, Mr Simon Cowell and Ms Amanda Holden (EAT/0606/10/DM).

Emma Czikai has lost her appeal against the Employment Tribunal’s decision in 2010 that she had not suffered disability discrimination when she failed to impress the judges Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden in her Britain’s Got Talent audition in 2009.

Continue reading…