March 2018 | Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD

Bank Holidays: 5 things every employer should know

Posted on 28 March 20187 June 2023 by @deliver_els

Everyone loves a bank holiday, unless you are an employer trying to work out your obligations and your employee’s rights. As we approach the Easter bank holiday, here is what you need to know:

(1) There is no statutory right for employees to have bank holidays off work. An employee’s right to time off will depend on the employee’s contract of employment.

(2) There is no statutory right to extra pay; for example, should an employee work a bank holiday, they will not be entitled to time and a half. Any right to extra pay will depend on the provisions of the employment contract.

(3) Part time workers should not be treated less favourably than full time workers. To follow best practice guidelines, employers should give part time employees a prorated allowance of paid bank holidays, regardless of whether or not they normally work on the days on which bank holidays fall.

(4) If the employment contract states an employee will be required to work bank holidays, they cannot refuse this, even on the grounds of religious reasons. However, it is important to note, refusal to grant Christian employees time off for any of the bank holidays with religious significance could expose you to indirect religious discrimination claims.

(5) If the employment contract states that employees are entitled to “statutory entitlement plus bank holidays”, this no longer means 20 days leave plus 8 bank holidays. In 2009, the statutory minimum leave was increased from 4 weeks to 5.9 weeks, thus, this wording would grant 28 days holiday with 8 bank holidays on top. Employers should check the wording in their employment contracts to determine if this is an issue.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

If you require employment law advice on any of the issues raised in this article, or any other employment issue give us a call today on 0370 218 5662. You can also find out more about our fixed fee HR packages here and fixed fee employment law packages here, or get in touch.

Tribunal claims increase by 90% since the abolishment of fees!

Posted on 12 March 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

The Ministry of Justice has released its latest round of data on Employment Tribunals and key figures show:

Single Employment Tribunal claims received have increased by 90%
Single Employment Tribunal claims disposed of have increased by 21%
The backlog of single Employment Tribunal claims have increased by 66%
Multiple Employment Tribunal claims received have increased by 467%

From the launch of the Employment Tribunal refund scheme in October 2017 to 31^st December 2017, 4,800 applications for refunds were received, and 3,400 payments with a total value of £2.8m were made.

These statistics suggest that employers will continue to face a rapid increase in claims as employees are no longer restricted from using the Employment Tribunal process.

It is evident that this new advantage of being able to lodge an Employment Tribunal claim, is increasing costs for business owners and placing a significant amount of pressure on Employment Tribunals who have had to cut staff. In turn they are struggling to manage caseloads and as a result, outcomes are being delayed.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

GDPR Reminder

Posted on 5 March 20188 June 2023 by @deliver_els

General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR becomes law 25th May 2018. Going forward, what does this mean for your business?

What is GDPR?

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out new rules for the handling of data. This may already be acknowledged as Data Protection; GDPR is set to replace this act. Therefore, businesses will need to alter the way in which they currently deal with personal details on employees and former employees and report any significant breaches.

What is the purpose of this change in the law?

It has become evident that the current statutory framework is not “fit for purpose” due to the increasing growth in the internet and online behaviour. Personal data is now being used in ways that were not foresaw when the Data Protection Act 1998 was first implemented.

Do I need to do anything?

Yes, GDPR will effect businesses of all sizes; implementing new legal requirements on employers because they fall into the category of “data controllers.”

Significant financial penalties will be imposed on employers should they breach the GDPR. This includes fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual turnover, whichever is higher.

Therefore employers, if they have not done so already, should prepare for the following changes:

Detailed privacy notices

Under current Data Protection provisions, employers are required to provide employees and job applicants with a privacy notice informing individuals of certain information. Under GDPR, employers will now need to provide more detail, including:

How long the data will be kept on the system for
If the data will be transferred to other countries
Information on the right to make a subject access request
Information on the right to have personal data deleted or rectified

Restriction to consent

At present, employers tend to justify the processing of personal data on the grounds of employee consent. This approach has been widely criticised as there can be doubt as to whether or not consent is given freely in the employer – employee relationship.

The GDPR is expected to set out more prescriptive requirements when attempting to obtain consent. This means it will be more difficult for employers to rely on consent to justify processing.

New breach notification requirement

Article 31 of the GDPR provides that “in the case of a personal data breach, data controllers shall without undue delay” and no later than 72 hours after becoming aware of it, notify the personal data breach to the supervisory authority.

In the event that the breach poses a high risk to the rights and freedoms of the individuals, those in question will have to be made aware of this.

Data Protection officer

The GDPR makes it a requirement that organisations appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) in some circumstances.

Organisations must appoint a DPO if:

They are a public authority
Conduct large scale systematic monitoring of individuals
Are involved in carrying out large scale processing of special categories of data or data that relates to criminal convictions or offences

DPO’s will be expected to:

Advise on GDPR obligations
Monitor compliance
Liaise with the data protection authority

Act now

It is crucial that employers cooperate and understand the new GDPR regulations. Employers will need HR, legal, IT and compliance teams to take a united approach.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

When does the NMW and Living Wage increase?

Posted on 1 March 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

Last week the Government announced a huge change for UK workers – Here is what you need to know:

Following on from the Budget in November 2017, Chancellor Phillip Hammond has announced that there would be an increase in the amount people will be entitled to earn in 2018.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the minimum pay per hour most workers under the age of 25 are entitled to by law.

The government’s National Living Wage (NLW) is the minimum pay per hour most workers aged 25 and over are entitled to by law.

The NLW is to increase from £7.50 to £7.83 per hour while the NMW will increase as follows:-

21 to 24 year old rate from £7.05 to £7.38 per hour
18 to 20 year old rate from £5.60 to £5.90 per hour
16 to 17 year old rate from £4.05 to £4.20 per hour
Apprentice rate from £3.50 to £3.70 per hour

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?