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 1st of the month and you are not paid until the 5th 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
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…
