What’s coming?
Changes to employment law that take effect from 6 April 2020.
What important changes should my business be aware of?
Changes to the written statement of terms
Additional information will be required in written statements of terms with employees, including:
- the hours and days of the week the worker /employee is required to work, whether they may be varied and how;
- entitlements to any paid leave;
- any other benefits not covered elsewhere in the written statement;
- details of any probationary period; and
- details of training provided by the employer.
TO DO:
- Check your written statements of terms to see if they comply with the new requirements.
Employee rights to a written statement of terms
All new employees and workers will have the right to a statement of written particulars from their first day of employment. At the moment the right to a written statement of terms only applies to employees and these must be delivered within two months of employment commencing.
TO DO:
- Consider who might qualify as a worker
- Update your recruitment procedures to ensure a written statement of terms is delivered from “day one”
- Consider drafting a new set of particulars for workers.
Changes to agency workers rules
Once agency workers have satisfied a 12-week qualifying period, they will be entitled to equal pay to workers directly engaged by the employer.
Some employers currently rely on a derogation – known as the ‘Swedish derogation’ – to not extend the right to equal pay to workers of a certain criteria.
TO DO:
- Remove any contractual provisions that allow inequity of pay under the derogation on or before 30 April 2020.
- Formally disapply the provision in writing where such provisions already exist in contracts.
Temporary work agencies requirements
Employment businesses must provide agency work-seekers with a key information document, including information on the type of contract, the minimum expected rate of pay, how they will be paid and by whom.
TO DO:
- If you are in the business of employment, make sure you have a key information document prepared to circulate to all new and existing workers on your books.
Changes to the off-payroll working rule (IR35) for the private sector
Until now, businesses have not been responsible for assessing the employment status of its contractors that operate via a personal service company. From April, the question will be ‘what would the effect be if the intermediary company were to be stripped away – would it look like a relationship of employment?’
Medium and large companies will become responsible for determining whether that contractor is a ‘deemed employee’ and account to HMRC for tax and NI contributions.
These new rules will not apply to small companies that benefit from the small company accounting regime.
TO DO :
- Check you are an exempt small company
and if you are not….
- Check the status of all consultants you work with
- Get tax advice
- Consider the need for tax investigation insurance
Holiday pay reference period adjustment
The holiday pay reference period will increase from 12 weeks to 52 weeks to help ensure that those workers in seasonal or atypical roles get the paid time off they are entitled to.
TO DO:
- Update holiday calculation and review procedures
- Communicate with staff
Parental bereavement leave and pay
Under the Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations – also known as Jack’s Law – from April, all employees who lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, will be entitled to 2 weeks’ statutory leave to be taken in one block or as two separate blocks of a week. Whether this is paid or unpaid leave depends on the employee’s length of service. Employees with at least 26 weeks’ service, who meet minimum earnings criteria, will qualify for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (set at the same rate as Statutory Paternity Pay). Employees with less than 26 weeks’ service will need to take this leave unpaid unless their contract states otherwise.
TO DO:
- Update your policies and employment contracts