October 2018 | Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD

2019 Budget: National Living Wage set to increase by almost 5%

Posted on 31 October 20187 June 2023 by @deliver_els

The National Living Wage, which is the statutory minimum wage for those aged 25 and over, has to rise to £8.21ph from April 2019 – which means an additional £690 annually for low paid workers.

The Low Pay Commission (LPC), which recommended the increase, have anticipated that the increase will see almost 2.4 million workers throughout the UK better off.

In addition, the Government have accepted all of the LPC’s recommendations for the following NMW rates:

• 21- to 24-year-olds will increase by 4.3% from £7.38 to £7.70 per hour;
• 18- to 20-year-olds will increase by 4.2% from £5.90 to £6.15 per hour;
• 16- to 17-year-olds will increase by 3.6% from £4.20 to £4.35 per hour;
• Apprentice rates will increase by 5.4% from £3.70 to £3.90 per hour; and
• The accommodation offset will increase by 7.9% from £7.00 to £7.55.

“The increase in the national living wage (NLW) to £8.21 in April 2019 will ensure a pay rise for the lowest-paid workers that exceeds both inflation and average earnings.

“Over the past year, the labour market has continued to perform well and the economy, while subdued, has met the criteria of ‘sustained growth’ set out in our remit for the NLW. We therefore recommended an increase in line with a path to 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020.” Said Sanderson, who is the chair of the LPC.

He added further: “We recommended real-terms increases to the national minimum wage (NMW) rates for younger workers and apprentices, as the labour market conditions for these groups remain strong. These rates will continue to rise faster than both inflation and average earnings.

“We opted for smaller increases than we recommended last year because of slightly weaker labour market conditions for young people, combined with insufficient evidence to fully understand the impact of the largest increases in a decade implemented in April of this year. However, next year’s will still be some of the highest increases on record.”

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?
If you are an employer who requires assistance with any of the issues raised in this blog contact us today for your free consultation 0370 218 5662.

HR Health Check

Posted on 17 October 20189 June 2023 by @deliver_els

How healthy is your business? To find out, answer these simple questions below.

1. Do all your employees have a written contract of employment? Y/N
2. Are these contracts of employment issued within the first 8 weeks of their employment commencing? Y/N
3. Do you have job descriptions for all roles within the organisation? Y/N
4. Do you check that all employees have the right to work in the UK? Y/N
5. Do you have a staff handbook? Y/N
6. Do you have written disciplinary and grievance procedures? Y/N
7. Do your policies and procedures comply with employment legislation? Y/N
8. Do you have a probationary period for new hires? Y/N
9. Do you know the 5 reasons for a fair dismissal? Y/N
10. Do you have a clear procedure for dealing with absence? Y/N

Answers

If you answered yes to under 5 questions, you are at high risk and should take immediate action.

If you answered yes to under 10 questions, you are at moderate risk, there is room for improvement in this instance.

If you answered yes to 10 and more questions, well done! You are at low risk – your HR essentials seem to be in place.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

If you are an employer who requires assistance with any of the issues raised in this blog contact us today for your free consultation 0370 218 5662.

Handing notice in to a job is not always a letter of resignation

Posted on 9 October 20188 June 2023 by @deliver_els

A letter that sets out one months’ notice should not be automatically assumed as a letter of resignation, an EAT Judge has confirmed.

In the case of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust v Levy, Judge Jennifer Eady dismissed the appeal and confirmed the tribunals earlier decision that the employee had in fact been unfairly dismissed.

In this case, the employee was offered a new role in the radiology department, as a result of this she submitted a letter to her line manager giving “one months’ notice”.

After the claimant had become unhappy in her current position, she successfully applied for a role in the radiology department – on June 10, 2016 – subject to pre-engagement checks.

Her letter to her manager, Gorton Davey read: “Please accept one month’s notice from the above date”.
On the same day, her manager responded saying: “Thank you for your letter… in which you tendered your notice of resignation. I can confirm that your last day of work within Health Records will be 8th July 2016. I would like to take this opportunity in thanking you for your hard work, dedication and contributions to a highly successful team over the years, and I wish you every success with your future employment.”

However, on 16th June, the claimants new job offering was retracted on the grounds of her poor attendance record. Because of this, Levy attempted to withdraw her notice, but her manager refused and wrote to her to confirm the date of termination, addressed the issue of outstanding holiday entitlement and filled out an employee termination form.

Mr Gorton-Davey wrote: “It is with regret that I cannot accept your request and as a result, your last day of work with us will be on Sunday, 10 July 2016. I also need to inform you that due to the number of days annual leave taken already this financial year, the Trust will be looking to recover 88 hours pay from you”.

As a consequence of this, Levy brought a claim of unfair dismissal against her employers. In April 2017, the Employment Tribunal held in favour of the claimant and held that her employers had unfairly dismissed her.

Her employers responded arguing that the wording used by Levy in her letter of notice was unambiguous. The Employment Tribunal rejected this response and said the letter could have been either a notice of intended transfer or a notice of termination. Stating that the employees’ letter would lead a reasonable observer to agree that the claimant was not ending her employment but simply making her manager aware that she intended to accept the offer.

The Tribunal also took into consideration the conditions of the claimant’s letter in that she was unaware that her employment history had potential to affect the conditional offer and that she needed to work to support herself and her family.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust appealed and failed. At the EAT, Judge Eady expressed: “…once it became apparent that the offer of a position in the Radiology Department had been withdrawn, and the claimant was seeking to withdraw her notice of departure from Records, the respondent’s position was that the claimant’s employment must come to an end.

“Given its findings of fact, however, I do not consider the [employment tribunal] erred in finding that this, in context, amounted to a dismissal and not simply the acceptance of a resignation.”

Employer considerations

It is important to note, that the events in this case are rare. However, the circumstances of this case should serve a reminder to all employers to ensure a clear understanding when an employee resigns or offers to give notice of resignation. Employers should attempt to understand why the employee is resigning, the notice they intend to serve and clarify when the employment relationship will terminate.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

If you are an employer who requires assistance with any of the issues raised in this blog contact us today for your free consultation 0370 218 5662.

Employment Tribunal Guidance for Employers

Posted on 3 October 20188 June 2023 by @deliver_els

The Employment Tribunals (ET) are an independent judicial body established to resolve disputes over employment rights between employers and employees. Claims likely to be heard in the ET will involve matters on unfair dismissal, discrimination, wages and redundancy payments.

In July 2017, the Supreme Court unanimously held that ET fees were unlawful and must be quashed. In September 2018, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) published tribunal statistics for April-June 2018 and across the boards the numbers are up!
Key figures include:

• Number of single claims lodged increased by 165% compared with the same quarter last year.
• The number of single claims outstanding rose by 130% compared with the same quarter last year.
• There have been 12,400 fee refund payments made since the fee refund scheme was introduced, totalling just over £10m.
• Disability discrimination cases had the largest average award (£30,700). Religious discrimination claims had the lowest average award (£5,100). The average award for unfair dismissal awards was £15,007.

If you are an employer and you have received an ET claim, it is crucial you act quickly and carefully to place yourself in the best position to defend the claim, or to reach a fair settlement agreement with the employee. At Employment Law Services (ELS), we have set out 5 top tips that should be applied when responding to a claim.

(1) Address the claim immediately

A tribunal claim is not something that should be set aside to deal with at a later date. Employers should have procedures in place to make sure that, when an ET1 is received, it is immediately brought to the attention of the appropriate people.
An employer should then make the decision on who is going to have the responsibility for dealing with the claim and begin working on the response.

An employer’s response should arrive at the ET office, on the appropriate form (an ET3), within 28 days of the date on which the claim was sent out.

(2) Evaluate the merits of the claim

Employees cannot submit an ET claim unless they have contacted the ACAS early conciliation service in the first instance. If both parties have gone through this process, the employer will probably already have knowledge of the employee’s complaint and had the opportunity to process its merits.

In this event, the employer should carefully carry out an assessment of the employee’s complaint and what defence they may have and then decide whether to fight the case or not.

Sometimes, employers discover that a settlement agreement is the less expensive option when weighing the costs of defending an ET claim. Settlement agreements are legally binding contracts which can be used to end an employment relationship on agreed terms. Once this document has been signed, the employee won’t be able to make an ET claim about any type of claim which is listed on the agreement.

(3) Focus on the issues relevant to the case

When responding to an ET complaint, it is crucial that employers focus on the employees specified allegations and any legal issues that may surround this. An employer’s response should be carefully drafted in as much detail as possible as they may not get the opportunity to introduce more information at a later date.

(4) Pay attention to detail

Whoever is in charge of drafting the ET3 must ensure that there are no inconsistencies and that all statements are factual and supported by the correct evidence.

(5) Submit the ET3 on time

An employer’s response form (ET3) should be submitted within 28 days of receiving the claim. This form can be submitted by using the online submission tool or returning the paper form.

The main thing to remember here is to ensure the tribunal office receive the form before the deadline, the form should not be sent on the 28th day. Employers may have the opportunity to apply for an extension, but this will be permitted at the judge’s discretion.

Fixed Fee ET work

Defending Employment Tribunal claims, or threats of a claim can be costly, but it doesn’t need to be. with Employment Law Services (ELS)’ Fixed Fee Employment Tribunal Representation offering, employers can save time and money. We understand how expensive, stressful, time consuming and distracting defending an Employment Tribunal Claim can be, even before the case ever reaches the hearing stage.

Negotiating the employment tribunal rules & procedures can be confusing & difficult but it doesn’t need to be. With our Fixed Fee Employment Tribunal Representation offering, employers can save time and money.

We believe this approach helps you control costs, minimise stress and wasted time and management resources, allowing you to continue to focus on your core business.

If you are faced with an Employment Tribunal claim, or threat of an Employment Tribunal Claim, Employment Law Services (ELS) can help. If you are an employer who requires assistance with any of the issues raised in this blog contact us today for your free consultation 0370 218 5662.