2018 | Page 4 of 5 | Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD

Supporting employees during Ramadan 2018

Posted on 26 April 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

This year Ramadan begins on the 16^th May and will last for 30 days, until the 14^th June. Ramadan is the 9^thmonth of the Islamic calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran.

Throughout this period, Muslims will fast and engage in extra prayers and worship. Therefore, it is extremely important employers are aware of their obligations towards their Muslim employees.

What does the law say?

In the Equality Act 2010, religion or belief can mean any religion. For example, an organised religion like Christianity, Judaism, Islam or Buddhism, or, a smaller religion like Rastafarianism or Paganism. Legislation also covers those with no beliefs or lack of beliefs.

Therefore, it will be viewed as unlawful should you treat an employee less favourably because of their religion or beliefs.

Have workplace policies on religious observance

Employers should have workplace policies regarding religious observance during working hours. This will ensure the workplace is consistent and managers are aware of what they can do to support employees. Lack of policies or failing to support your employees will expose the business to complaints of religious discrimination.

Employers and managers should be considerate and understanding

Throughout Ramadan, managers should be mindful of Muslim colleagues and offer support to help manage their workload. Employers may find that the productivity levels of employees who are fasting are affected, thus, employees should not be unduly penalised or criticised in the even that they lose productivity during fasting hours.

Flexible working

Where possible, employers may wish to consider implementing flexible working arrangements during Ramadan, all of which should be clearly set out in the workplace religious observance policy. In this instance, employees may prefer to start working earlier and work right through lunch in order to finish early. Employers will find that productivity is less likely to be affected when employees are granted the right to work flexibly during Ramadan.

Be corporative with holiday requests

With Ramadan ending in the middle of June this year, Muslim employees may wish to take annual leave to allow them to celebrate Eid with friends and family. There is no automatic legal requirement to time off, however, employers and managers should try their best to accommodate any requests during this time period.

Should an employer decide to refuse an employee time off following Ramadan, there should be a clear and fair reason provided as to why their annual leave request cannot be accommodated at that time.

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.

EAT says father who was refused enhanced shared parental pay was not discriminated against!

Posted on 16 April 20188 June 2023 by @deliver_els

The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) has ruled it is not discriminatory to refuse a new father enhanced pay whilst on shared parental leave.

In Ali v Capita Customer Management the judge held that the Employment Tribunal (ET) had failed to take into consideration the purpose of paid maternity leave when it reached its decision and ruled that it was not a matter of discrimination refusing the father the same rights as the new mother following the birth of their child.

In 2017, the ET held it was direct sex discrimination to allow Mr Ali only 2 weeks leave on full pay, when female employees were allowed 14 weeks maternity leave with full pay.

In this case, Mr Ali’s wife had been advised by her GP to return to work early to help with her post-natal depression. Mr Ali’s employers granted him 2 weeks fully paid paternity pay and a number of weeks paid annual leave following the birth of his child.

However, Mr Ali’s employers had only offered statutory minimum pay thereafter, this meant that once he had taken his 2 weeks paternity leave, everything after would be a substantial loss in earnings.

Mr Ali lodged a complaint to the ET claiming that his employers refusing to pay him the same rate as his partner was direct sex discrimination. His employers appealed this, arguing that Mr Ali could not compare his situation to the new mother on maternity leave as he was not the one who had given birth.

The ET responded agreeing with Mr Ali, arguing that he had not compared himself to the mother who had given birth. Suggesting further, that after the initial two – week recovery period that is specific to a baby’s mother, a female employee on maternity leave was an appropriate comparator; it was irrelevant that Mr Ali had not given birth.

Last week, Capita Customer Management won its appeal against the ET decision.

The EAT held that the ET had poorly interpreted Mr Ali’s circumstances. Arguing that the purpose of maternity pay and leave is to recognise the “health and wellbeing of a woman in pregnancy, confinement and after recent child birth.”

Working Families’, Chief Executive, Sarah Jackson said: “We intervened in this case because the particular workplace disadvantage women face having experienced pregnancy and child birth must continue to be recognised in law. Only women can experience child birth and maternity leave is to protect a women’s health and wellbeing – it cannot simply be equated with ‘child care’.”

However, she does highlight the importance of providing men with greater childcare rights. “We have long called for greater rights and pay for working fathers – including a properly – paid, standalone period of extended paternity leave for fathers – but these should complement, not undermine, the rights of working mothers.”

Employers will be happy to hear they do not have to take any drastic measures to amend workplace policies immediately. However, they should be aware of any potential risks and challenges that may be made by male employees and be fully prepared to proceed with complaints should they arise.

How Employment Law Services (ELS) Can Help Employers?

Employers concerned about any of the issues raised in this article can take advantage of Employment Law Services (ELS) free consultation service – call us today to arrange your free consultation – 0800 612 4772.

How to upskill your workforce to get the most out of your employees

Posted on 13 April 20189 June 2023 by @deliver_els

One of the biggest concerns for small business owners is the skills gap as the UK is soon set to leave the EU.

Recruitment website Totaljobs.com have produced research identifying 2 out of 3 employees have moved on due to lack of development opportunities and training.

Providing your employees with training and further education opportunities can have a number of benefits for your business in the long-term, including, improved employee morale, higher retention and increased productivity.

Therefore, upskilling your current workforce is a crucial step to keep your employees engaged. Here are our top tips to get the most out of your team.

Workplace mentoring

New starts and junior level employees benefit from this the most. Mentoring can be done informally – simply set aside some time each week to give your employees feedback, and work alongside them when solving problems and decision making. This has been proved as a more efficient way to bring employees up to scratch more quickly than if left unsupervised.

Training courses

Training courses are effective when improving your current workforce. However, they are also viewed as attractive benefits for ambitious individuals. Benefits include:

Increased productivity
Employees develop a greater skill set which in turn allows them to undertake a wider variety of duties
Increased ability to adapt effectively to change in the workplace

A report published by research firm Gallup – “How millennials want to work” identified that 59% of respondents said that opportunities to learn and develop were crucial when applying for jobs.

Set out roles & responsibilities clearly

If your employees have a clearer understanding of what is expected of them and how their input contributes to the success of the business, they will have a greater sense of purpose and in turn will have a stronger commitment in what they can achieve.

We recommend holding team meetings once a month to ensure all employees are contributing. This helps them understand their own individual role as well as the importance of their team.

Reward your employees for their efforts

It is well established that happy employees are vital to the long-term success of any organisation. Recognising your employees hard work and rewarding them will:

Create a good impression of your business to those outside of it
Aid the recruitment process
Encourage your employees to always go that extra mile for the business
Supports team work and cohesiveness

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

April 2018: Important employment law updates

Posted on 5 April 20187 June 2023 by @deliver_els

April is always one of the busiest months of the year in the world of employment law. Here is a summary of the key updates employers should be aware of:

(1) National Living Wage & National Minimum Wage

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

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;

(2) Statutory Benefits

On the 1^st April, statutory maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental pay and maternity allowance will increase to £145.18 per week (currently £140.98 per week).

As of the 6^th April, statutory sick pay will increase to £92.05 per week (currently £89.35 per week).

(3) Tribunal Compensation

Compensation limits are minimum awards payable under employment legislation and are set to increase on the 6^th April. Increases go as followed:

Maximum limit on compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increase to £83,682 (currently £80,541);
Maximum limit on a week’s pay for calculating basic award and statutory redundancy payments will increase to £508 (currently £489);
Guarantee pay will increase to £28 per day (currently £27 per day);
The minimum basic award in cases where a dismissal is unfair by virtue of health and safety, employee representative, trade union, or occupational pension trustee reasons will increase to £6,203 (currently £5,970);
Award for unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership or activities, or for unlawful inducement relating to collective bargaining will increase to £4,059 (from £3,907)
Minimum amount of compensation where individual excluded or expelled from union in contravention and not admitted or re-admitted by date of tribunal application will increase to £9,474 (currently £9,118)

(4) Taxation of Termination Payments

As of 6^th April, all payments made in lieu of notice, will be taxed, regardless of whether they are contractual or not.

(5) Gender Pay Gap Reporting

The 4^th April is the deadline in which gender pay gap reports should be published. These results must be made public on the employer’s website and a government site. This means the public, customers, employees and potential recruits will have access to these figures.

Employers should consider taking new or faster actions to reduce or eliminate their gender pay gaps.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

How to manage a disgruntled ex-employee

Posted on 4 April 20189 June 2023 by @deliver_els

As an employer, you will eventually experience a disgruntled ex-employee. The problem with an angry former employee is they pose a risk to your business. Therefore, the sooner this situation is addressed, the better.

All employers should ensure they take the following steps:

(1) Arrange An exit interview with the employee

When an employee hands in their letter of resignation, employers should arrange an exit interview to allow them to understand their thoughts and reasoning behind the resignation.

In the exit interview, the employee should be reminded of their contractual duties whilst working their notice. For example, the employee may be reminded of clauses in connection to confidentiality and accessing company records.

If it states in the employment contract things they should not do when leaving the company, they should be reminded of this too and that the company will deal with any breaches.

(2) Ensure you have robust contracts of employment in place

Post termination restrictive covenants are contractual clauses which may be set out within a contract of employment. If this is the case, employers should use them when an employee hands his/her notice in.

The most common restrictions an employer may place on an employee who wishes to terminate the employment relationship are:

General confidentiality clauses; these make it unlawful for the employee to disclose sensitive information about the organisation and its clients
Non-solicitation clauses; this means the employee cannot approach the organisations existing clients when the employment has been terminated
Non-dealership restrictions; such clauses prevent the employee from doing business with the organisations clients after they leave the employment

(3) Have everything documented

Since the Supreme Court made the decision to abolish tribunal fees in July 2017, employees can now bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal without that financial barrier. It is therefore extremely important that employers document everything to minimise risks associated with the Employment Tribunal. Employers should keep all important documents, including, the employee’s resignation letter and any minutes taken at the exit interview.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

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?

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?

Pimlico Plumbers case heard in the Supreme Court

Posted on 21 February 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard a crucial gig economy case with Pimlico Plumbers challenging last year’s Court of Appeal decision that a plumber who signed an agreement with the company defining himself as self-employed, was in fact a worker.

Last year, in Pimlico Plumbers Ltd & Another v Smith, the Court of Appeal held that a plumber was a worker under statutory provisions which should have entitled him to the rights of a worker throughout his employment.

In this case, Gary Smith was required under agreement to wear a uniform with the company’s logo on display and drive a van that was leased from the company. In addition, he was also required to work a minimum number of hours each week.

When Pimlico Plumbers v Smith reached the Court of Appeal; it was accepted that he was a worker, which entitled him to basic employment rights. Such as, the right to National Minimum Wage & the right to paid annual leave.

In this instance, the Court of Appeal had been particularly swayed by Mr Smith’s requirement to provide his services personally. His agreement with his employers did not allow him to get someone else to carry out his duties.

Charlie Mullins, who is the Chief Executive of Pimlico Plumbers said: “The outcome of the case will have huge ramifications for a large part of the economy, including the media, the health service and of course the construction industry.”

“In one three-year period Mr Smith earned more than £500,000 as a self-employed contractor, but when his circumstances changed he wanted me to foot the bill for sick and holiday pay, as well as to grant him other employment rights, which he was not entitled to, and which in my view he had already been paid to take care of for himself.”

Mullins argues that this case is not like Uber and other gig economy cases.

“The engineers who contract to Pimlico Plumbers are very highly-skilled individuals, can go anywhere and do whatever they want.”

“Pimlico Plumbers wants to comply with its obligations and it has always been our genuine belief that we have been doing that. HMRC has looked into the situation in the past and told us that engineers are self-employed. We have been operating in accordance with this.”

If the Supreme Court dismisses the appeal from Pimlico, like Uber, it has been predicted that we will see a notable transformation within the ever-growing gig economy. This means employers will have to adjust their business models to minimise risks associated with worker status.

This hearing is set to last 2 days with judgement expected in early March.

We will keep employers informed of updates as and when it comes in.