New National Living Wage & National Minimum Wage Rates from 1 April 2023

On 17 November 2022, the UK Government confirmed in its Autumn Statement that it has accepted the Low Pay Commission’s proposed increases to the national living wage (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW) rates from 1 April 2023.

About the National Minimum Wage (NMW)

The national minimum wage (NMW) is a prescribed minimum hourly rate of pay which employers must legally pay to most of their workers.

There are five different rates of NMW for different age-related categories of worker:

  • National living wage. Since 6 April 2021 this applies to workers aged 23 or over. The NLW was initially set by the government in April 2016 at 50p above the standard adult rate, but is now a separate age-related hourly rate.
  • Standard (adult) rate. For workers aged 21 and 22.
  • Development rate. For workers aged between 18 and 20 inclusive.
  • Young workers rate. For workers aged under 18 but above the compulsory school age, that are not apprentices.
  • Apprentice rate. For apprentices under 19 years of age or those aged 19 and over but in the first year of their apprenticeship.

A worker is entitled to the rate that applies at the start of a particular pay reference period even if the NMW rates are changed or the worker becomes entitled to a different rate during that reference period (regulation 4B, NMW Regulations 2015).

National Minimum Wage Increases Announced for 1 April 2023

Having accepted the Low Pay Commission’s proposed increases to the national living wage (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW) rates from 1 April 2023, the new rates from 1 April 2023 will be:

  • Age 23 or over (NLW rate): £10.42 (up 9.7% from £9.50)
  • Age 21 to 22: £10.18 (up 10.9% from £9.18)
  • Age 18 to 20: £7.49 (up 9.7% from £6.83)
  • Age 16 to 17: £5.28 (up 9.7% from £4.81)
  • Apprentice rate: £5.28 (up 9.7% from £4.81)

Although an increase in wages will be warmly welcomed by those currently receiving the NLW and NMW struggling to cope with the cost of living crisis, the increase announced on 17 November 2022 falls short of the Real Living Wage of £10.90 (£11.95 in London) that the Real Living Wage Foundation recommends should be paid to all workers aged 18 and over.

In contrast, in a three-year period that’s been plagued by the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, and the conflict in Ukraine, the combination of which has created a host of supply chain issues, driven up energy costs, and caused inflation and interest rates to soar to unprecedented levels, this average 9.9% increase in the NLW and NMW will undoubtedly impact SMEs and place an added strain on business finances that are already under significant pressure.

Do You Need Assistance?

The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in providing specialist advice on contentious and non-contentious employment law and HR issues. If you have any queries or concerns about how the increase to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage impacts you, call us on 0800 612 4772Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.

How Employers Can Avoid an HR Own Goal During the FIFA World Cup 2022

Employers can avoid an HR own goal during this year’s FIFA World Cup by planning ahead and taking some simple steps.

An HR Survival Guide for Employers

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar kicks off on 20 November 2022 and will run until 18 December 2022 and sees 32 nations taking part in 64 matches. Whilst this will no doubt excite football fans others will be less excited including many Employers, not least due to the difficulties it could cause them.

The not so good news for UK Employers

With kick off times for group matches scheduled for 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm, staff could still phone in sick or worse simply not turn up in order to watch matches and this could have serious implications for Employers.

To help Employers better understand the risks and equip them with tools to better manage the situation and create a positive outcome for both employer and employee, we’ve outlined below the keys points Employers should consider.

Potential Issues Employers Might Face

  • Unauthorised absence
  • Staff being drunk / under the influence of alcohol at work
  • Inappropriate conduct by employees – discrimination, racism, bullying or harassment
  • Increases in holiday requests from both football and non-football fans alike

Ways Employers Could Avoid Issues

Employers should ensure they have clear policies in place including:

  • Sickness & Absence Policy
  • Code of Conduct
  • Discipline & Grievance Policy
  • Bullying & Harassment Policy
  • Drugs & Alcohol Policy
  • Equality & Diversity Policy

Manage absenteeism in advance

  • Make it clear to employees that absences without authorisation will not be paid and may lead to action under the Disciplinary Policy.
  • Utilise Return to Work Interviews to identify and address fake sickness absence or absent resulting from post-match hangovers

Reconsider Your Holiday Arrangements

  • Relax caps on the number of employees that are allowed to be on holiday at one time
  • Where staff have indicated they want to see certain matches, encourage them to take the time off as annual leave.
  • Remember non-football fans may make holidays requests during the same period and so you will need to ensure you treat all holiday requests fairly and equally.  Granting a holiday request by a male employee but refusing a holiday request from a female employee could trigger a claim of sex discrimination!

Other Things Employers Can Consider

  • Screening matches in a meeting room or communal area.
  • Relaxing your Internet Policy and allow employees to stream matches on their PCs.
  • You will need to ensure you have the appropriate licenses in place which allow screening or streaming of live TV within the workplace.

Do You Need Assistance?

Events like this can create legal pitfalls for Employers, especially those who don’t have up to date HR policies in place. The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers and can review your existing HR policies to make sure they up to date and compliant with current legislation and the ACAS Code of Conduct. If you have any queries or concerns you can call us on 0800 612 4772Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.

Avoid a HR Hangover This Christmas 2022

He’s Making a List….He’s Checking it Twice…..but at this year’s Christmas party will YOUR staff be naughty or will they be nice?

Many Employers have already started planning this year’s Christmas party and are no doubt hopeful that this festive season will be an enjoyable time for bosses and employees alike, but without careful planning, employers could easily end up with a costly HR Hangover!

Christmas Party Planning

Before the party even begins employers could find themselves on the naughty list by making attendance at the annual Christmas party mandatory.

Employers need to remember that Christmas is a Christian holiday, so staff should NOT be placed under any pressure to attend Christmas parties if they don’t want to.  Some may opt not to attend for religious reasons while others may have family obligations that prevent them from attending but whatever the reason, attendance at the annual Christmas party should not be mandatory.

Leaving staff off the invitation list can also potentially create problems for employers and expose them to discrimination complaints, so employers should ensure ALL employees are invited, including those who are on maternity leave, paternity leave and sick leave.

Christmas Party Time

Once the annual Christmas party starts, free flowing alcohol often acts as a trigger for some less than jolly employee behaviour leaving employers with a less than festive HR hangover to cope with.  Common issues employers often have to deal with after the annual Christmas party include gross misconduct (usually the result of a festive punch up), claims of bullying, harassment or even discrimination (sex, age, race, religious), and inappropriate photos and social media posts to name but a few.

To help employers avoid an HR hangover by steering their company sleigh around the traditional Christmas HR landmines, here are some ‘Top Tips” from Employment Law Services (ELS):

  • Ensure all staff are aware that the Christmas party is still a work-related activity, that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated, and that may be subject to disciplinary action if they behave inappropriately.
  • Share the company’s disciplinary and grievance procedures with all staff prior to the party.
  • At the Christmas party, ensure all employees are catered for regardless of their age, sex, sexual orientation, religion or disability.
  • Reiterate to all staff the business’s social media policy and the consequences of posting pictures online that may damage the company’s reputation or breach another colleagues right to privacy.
  • If staff are expected to come in the day after the office party, make sure this has been clearly communicated to them beforehand.
  • Lastly, consider providing transportation from the party venue to ensure staff arrive home safely.

Do You Need Assistance?

The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers and can review your existing discipline & grievance policy to make sure they up to date and compliant with current legislation and the ACAS Code of Conduct. If you have any queries or concerns you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.

Discrimination in the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know

We look at what employers need to know about discrimination in the workplace and how they can avoid negatively impacting staff morale, expensive litigation and reputational damage.

Discrimination in the workplace

Who is Protected from Discrimination?

Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA2010) protects different categories of individuals against work-related discrimination, including:

  • Job applicants
  • Current employees
  • Former employees
  • Contract workers
  • Agency workers
  • Vocational trainees
  • Those seeking or holding professional or trade qualifications
  • Those seeking or holding membership of trade organisations (including corporate members)

In a workplace setting, the EqA2010 is concerned with discrimination in respect the following characteristics:  age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

There are various types of discrimination and other unlawful conduct set out in the EqA 2010 that apply to most (and in some cases all) of the protected characteristics:

  • Direct discrimination (section 13).
  • Indirect discrimination (section 19).
  • Harassment (section 26).
  • Victimisation (section 27).
  • Instructing, causing, inducing and helping discrimination (sections 111 & 112)

Employers’ Liability for Discriminatory Acts of Employees

For the purposes of the EqA 2010, anything done by an employee in the course of their employment is treated as having also been done by the employer (section 109(1)), regardless of whether the employee’s acts were done with the employer’s knowledge or approval (section 109(3)).

So, an employer can be “vicariously liable” for discrimination, harassment or victimisation committed by an employee in the course of employment, but an employer will only be liable for its employees’ discriminatory actions if these are done “in the course of employment”.

In some cases, in may be difficult to clearly identify what constitutes “in the course of employment” and some situations may be considered an extension of employment, such as staff Christmas parties (on or off site) and informal social gatherings immediately after work.  Factors to take into consideration include:

  • Whether the incident took place on the employer’s premises.
  • Whether the victim and/or discriminator were on duty.
  • Whether the gathering included employees’ partners, customers or unrelated third parties.
  • Whether the event took place immediately after work.

In circumstances where discrimination, harassment or victimisation committed by an employee in the course of employment has been found to taken place, there is potentially a defence available to an employer if it can show that it took “all reasonable steps” to prevent the employee from doing the discriminatory act or from doing anything of that description.

What is a Reasonable Steps Defence?

Where an employee has committed an act of discrimination, harassment or victimisation against a colleague, the employer will not necessarily be liable.  In summary, reasonable steps an employer takes to prevent discrimination, harassment or victimisation will usually include:

  • Having and implementing an equal opportunities policy and an anti-harassment and bullying policy and reviewing those policies as appropriate.
  • Making all employees aware of the policies and their implications.
  • Training workers, managers and supervisors in equal opportunities and harassment issues.
  • Taking steps to deal effectively with complaints, including taking appropriate disciplinary action.

To succeed with a “reasonable steps” defence, the employer must have taken such steps before the act of discrimination or harassment occurred.

Acting reasonably in response to a complaint of discrimination or harassment is not in of itself a sufficient reasonable step and where a tribunal determines that a further step not taken by the employer should have reasonably been taken, the reasonable steps defence will fail, even if that step would not have prevented the discrimination that occurred.

What HR Policies Should Employers Implement?

Not all HR policies and procedures are required by law but there are strong legal reasons for including those that aren’t.  The essential HR policies and procedures that employers should have in place, some of which are required by law, are as follows:

  • Disciplinary policy
  • Grievance policy
  • Equal opportunities policy
  • Harassment and bullying policy
  • Maternity and family friendly policy
  • Flexible working policy
  • Whistleblowing policy
  • Health and safety policy
  • Social media policy
  • Absence Management policy
  • Holiday policy
  • Performance improvement policy
  • Drugs and alcohol policy
  • Data protection policy
  • Bribery policy
  • Modern slavery policy

It is important to note that simply having these essential HR policies in place is not in of itself a “reasonable step”.  Employers must ensure all policies are effectively communicated to all workers and that they are fully understood.

Essential HR Policies

What Training Should Employers Implement?

Providing training to all employees on equality, discrimination and harassment, with additional training for managers and supervisors who hold responsibility for recruitment and employment decisions is a ‘reasonable step’ employers must take to prevent discrimination, harassment or victimisation in the workplace.

Employers should provide regular training on their equality and anti-harassment policies to ensure employees understand both their own and their employer’s rights, duties and obligations.

The training should cover:

  • An outline of the law, including all the protected characteristics and prohibited conduct.
  • Why the employer introduced the policies and how it puts them into practice.
  • The standards of behaviour expected of all staff and how the employer deals with unacceptable conduct.
  • The risk of condoning, or seeming to approve, inappropriate behaviour, and personal liability.
  • How prejudice can affect the way an employer functions and the impact that generalisations, stereotypes, biases, or inappropriate language in day-to-day operations can have on people’s chances of obtaining work, promotion, recognition and respect.
  • The equality monitoring process.
  • What an employee should do if they experience discrimination, harassment or victimisation.
  • How managers should handle complaints of discrimination, harassment or victimisation.
  • The employer’s approach to equality, diversity, and preventing discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
  • The roles and responsibilities of employees in making the policy work effectively in practice.
  • Who employees should go to if they need advice on equality and discrimination issues. For example, members of HR or senior management who are trained to deal with these issues or, in larger workplaces, the trade union equality representatives.
  • The employer’s commitment to supporting those who report discrimination and harassment, and the anti-victimisation measures it has in place.

It is good practice for equality and anti-harassment training to form part of all workers’ induction procedures. This is an effective way of ensuring that all new staff are clear about the behaviours expected in the workplace and how to report instances where behaviour falls below this standard. The induction pack should include a copy of the employer’s relevant policies, together with information on any groups within the organisation which support employees with particular protected characteristics.

Employers should keep records of who has received the training and ensure that it is refreshed at regular intervals.

The EAT’s decision in Allay (UK) Ltd v Gehlen highlights the importance of ensuring that equality training is refreshed regularly. The employer was unable to rely on the “reasonable steps” defence to a harassment claim as the equality and diversity training delivered to employees 20 months before the harassment was “stale” and there was evidence that the training given was insubstantial and that employees had forgotten it.

Essential Training Courses

Do You Need Assistance?

The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on essential HR policies and procedures, discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the workplace.  If you have any queries or concerns you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.

UK Employment Law Will Not Be Devolved to Scotland

The UK Government has confirmed that there are no plans to devolve UK employment law to the Scottish Administration.

UK Employment Law

Current Legal Position on UK Employment Law

Reserved matters are political powers – legislative or executive – that are held exclusively by a particular political authority, usually in multi-national states such as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or in federal countries like the United States of America, Canada and Australia.

UK Employment law is currently a reserved matter in Scotland, under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, covering employment (employment and industrial relations, health and safety, non-devolved job search and support).

Will UK Employment Law be Devolved?

On 6 September 2022, a House of Commons debate took place on the devolution of UK employment law to Scotland. Jane Hunt MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) confirmed that the government has no intention to devolve legislative competence for employment rights matters to the Scottish Administration.

Key reasons included the following:

  • For the labour market to work most effectively across Great Britain, the underlying legislative framework concerning rights and responsibilities in the workplace needs to be consistent.
  • Devolution could create a two-tier employment rights framework, with Scotland adopting different policy and legislation to England and Wales. This would create a significant burden for businesses operating on both sides of the border.
  • Devolving employment rights could disadvantage workers by suppressing the free flow of labour between England and Scotland.

Will Employment Tribunals be Devolved? 

Devolution of employment tribunals is currently planned to take place and Ms Hunt confirmed that once the Order in Council drafting has concluded, the UK Government and Scottish Administration will look to agree a timeline for devolution of the first tranche of tribunals, but the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that devolution of employment tribunals will not happen before 2025.

What About the Employment Bill?

 Ms Hunt also confirmed that there is an “ambitious legislative programme” including a “comprehensive set of Bills” to enable the government to deliver on its priorities. She pointed to government support given to Private Members’ Bills on tips and neonatal care, legislation extending the ban on exclusivity clauses in contracts and guidance on employment status.  She also referred to the Carers’ Leave Bill, which received its second reading in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

When asked why the UK Government is not banning fire and rehire practices, Ms Hunt said that a ban would not be appropriate as in some situations this option can play a valid role and provides flexibility for businesses. She referred to the government’s “proportionate action” to address firing and rehiring by bringing forward a statutory code of practice but did not indicate a timescale for when a statutory code of practice might be introduced.

Conclusion

Confirmation that UK employment law will remain a reserved matter and that the current UK Government appears to have no desire to change that position will undoubtedly be welcome news to employers who operate sites across the UK, but following the recent introduction of the Brexit Freedom Bill (The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and the significant transformation to workers’ regulations it will incur, the positives of UK employment law remaining a reserved matter will likely be overshadowed.

 

IR35 Rules Scrapped

On 23 September 2022, the government announced that the IR35 rules on “off payroll” working will be scrapped.

IR35

What is IR35 and Off Payroll Working?

The terms “off-payroll working” and “IR35” are commonly used interchangeably because they both relate to legislation that governs the tax treatment of the provision of a worker’s services through an intermediary, such as contractors engaged by businesses via a personal service company, but both form part of the much wider Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003) legislation.

When ITEPA 2003 was first introduced responsibility for determining the correct tax status of the engagement sat with the contractor but following amendments to the IR35 rules in 2017 and 2021, responsibility for determining the correct tax status of the engagement shifted to the business engaging the contractor.  These changes were introduced to crack down on a particular form of perceived tax avoidance whereby individuals would seek to avoid paying employee income tax and national insurance contributions by supplying their services through an intermediary and paying themselves in dividends.

What Are the Changes to IR35 Rules from April 2023?

In its mini-budget announcement on 23 September 2022, the UK Government confirmed that the rules in Chapter 10 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003 will be repealed with effect from 6 April 2023 meaning contractors will become responsible for determining the correct tax status of the engagement.

Put simply, this means that businesses will no longer have to assess whether their contractors working through a personal services company (PSC) are within the IR35 rules, and the liability for tax and NI will remain with the PSC. However, the Chancellor said that compliance will be kept under review so it could be that PSCs fall under greater scrutiny.

Changes to IR35 Rules

What Do Business need to Consider?

Although many businesses will welcome these changes, those involved in engaging contractors will need to continue to carefully consider both the existing and future IR35 rules to reduce risk and avoid liability.  Key considerations for businesses include:

  • The IR35 rules don’t change until April 2023. Businesses engaging contractors in the meantime should continue to adhere with the current IR35 rules and maintain the necessary records of their checks and tax status determinations.
  • From April 2023, the rules on employment status don’t change and business remain liable for incorrectly determining employment status.
  • The risk of penalties for businesses that continue to pay individuals off payroll when they know they should be treated as employees or workers remain in place.

Do You Need Assistance?

The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on employment status.  If you have any queries about your options you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Announced

If passed, the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is set to significantly transform worker regulations in the UK.

Workers Rights

The New Brexit Freedoms Bill Unveiled

On 22 September 2022 the UK Government’s much anticipated Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons,

The intended purpose of the Bill is to repeal, amend or replace thousands of EU laws and regulations that were initially retained when the UK left the EU in January last year and will provide the UK Government with the means to update previously retained EU legislation via Parliament.

Included in the Bill is a “sunset” provision that could potentially see all EU-derived subordinate legislation and retained direct EU legislation implementing EU law (regulations) scrapped entirely on 31 December 2023 unless otherwise preserved.

Special features of EU law will be removed from retained EU law that remains in force after that date (assimilated law), ending the principle of the supremacy of EU law, general principles of EU law and directly effective EU rights on 31 December 2023. EU interpretive features will no longer apply to assimilated law. (The sunset date can be extended until 2026 for specified pieces of legislation.)

What Employment Laws Could be Affected?

Employment laws currently contained within Acts are not captured by the sunset provisions, but a wide range of employment related regulations derived from EU law could be affected, including:

  • The Working Time Regulations
  • The Agency Workers Regulations
  • The Part-time Workers Regulations
  • The Fixed term Employees Regulations
  • TUPE (but only insofar as it implements EU law)
  • The Information & Consultation of Employees Regulations
  • Various Health & Safety regulations
  • The Maternity & Parental Leave Regulations

More Uncertainty for UK Businesses

The first reading of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill in the House of Commons on 22 September 2022 was only the first stage of a multi-stage process and there will undoubtedly be intense scrutiny and debate in Parliament before the Bill is passed into law but in the meantime, we face a lengthy period of uncertainty as the Government picks its way through an extensive and complex range of EU laws to determine which laws it will retain, replace and revoke.

We will continue to closely monitor the situation and track this comprehensive and transformative legislation to ensure we keep ahead of the regulatory changes that are undoubtedly coming.

Real Living Wage Rise of 10.1% Announced

The new Real Living Wage increase announced today will give a full-time worker £2,730 a year more than a worker earning the current government National Living Wage.

New Real Living Wage Rates

In response to the cost-of-living crisis, the Living Wage Foundation has brought forward the rise to the Real Living Wage, which was planned for November, and has today announced a 10.1% increase bringing the Real Living Wage up to £10.90 per hour across the UK and £11.95 in London.  This is the largest year-on-year increase announced by the Living Wage Foundation since the scheme was launched in 2011.

Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said “Today’s new rates will provide hundreds of thousands of workers and their families with greater security and stability during these incredibly difficult times.”

The number of Living Wage employers in the UK, which doubled over the past two years, now sits at 11,000 and approximately 390,000 workers of accredited Living Wage employers are set to benefit from a significant pay increase just as inflation rates and the cost of living in the UK reaches a record high.

The Real Living Wage vs The National Living Wage – What’s the Difference?

The Real Living Wage is a voluntary rate paid by employers who choose to go above and beyond the government minimum to ensure their staff are always paid a wage that covers the cost of living, and it is based on calculations of the cost of living carried out by the Living Wage Foundation and applies to all workers over 18.

In contrast, the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage is the legal minimum set by the government for workers aged 16-22 and those over 23.  These rates change on 1 April every year.

23 and over 21 to 22 18 to 20 Under 18 Apprentice
NLW / NMW Current Rates

1 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 2023

£9.50 £9.18 £6.83 £4.81 £4.81

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either aged under 19 or aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship.

What Can Employers Do?

In the three months to the end of April 2022 the median basic pay increase in the UK was 4%, the highest recorded level since September 1992, so its clear that many employers have already tried to close the growing gap between pay and inflation but many employers are still struggling to overcome the many challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic and rising operating costs that are being driven by soaring inflation rates.

The challenge for many employers, therefore, will be how they can continue to keep employees engaged and performing in the absence of being able to offer workers substantial pay rises.  Some alternatives to pay increases that employers may wish to consider include:

  • Extra (paid) time off
  • Extended lunch breaks
  • Early finishing times on Fridays
  • Flexible working hours
  • Wellness / Mental Health programmes
  • Skills training
  • One-off bonus payment

Do You Need Assistance?

The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on pay and benefits.  If you have any queries about your options you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.

New ACAS Guidance on Staff Suspensions

Acas has published new guidance to advise employers on how to consider and handle staff suspensions at work, specifically during investigations.

ACAS Publish New Guidance on Staff Suspensions

Should Employers Suspend Staff?

Paid suspension is not generally a breach of contract and is often an appropriate course of action where there have been allegations of serious misconduct, but how employers consider and handle staff suspensions at work, specifically during investigations, can give rise to further complications and problems.

New ACAS Guidance on Staff Suspensions

The recently published ACAS guidance advises employers on how to consider and handle staff suspensions at work, specifically during investigations. The guidance covers deciding whether to suspend someone, the process for suspending someone, supporting an employee’s mental health during suspension and pay and holiday during suspension.

Employers and employees must follow the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (Acas Code). Failure to do so may affect both the fairness of a dismissal and the amount of any compensation that the employee is awarded by the tribunal.

When suspending an employee, employers should also consider the non-statutory Acas guide and the Acas guidance on suspension.  The Acas suspension guidance considers a number of key issues, including deciding whether to suspend someone, the process for suspending someone, supporting an employee’s mental health during suspension and pay and holiday during suspension.

Acas recommends that because of the risk of breaching the employment contract and the stress that can be caused, a suspension should only be used when it is a reasonable way of dealing with the situation (such as while an investigation is carried out and there is a need to protect evidence, witnesses, the business, other staff or the person being investigated) and there are no appropriate alternatives. Employers should consider each situation carefully before deciding whether to suspend someone.

Suggested alternatives to suspension include:

  • Changing shifts, site or working from home.
  • Working with different customers or away from customers.
  • Stopping working with certain systems, tools or on specific tasks.

A suspension may also be appropriate in order to protect an employee’s health and safety (such as in medical or pregnancy circumstances).

Employers should support a suspended worker by explaining the reason for the suspension, making it clear that it does not mean that it has been decided they have done anything wrong, maintaining pay and benefits, keeping the suspension as short as possible, keeping it confidential wherever possible, and staying in regular contact throughout.

The worker should be informed of their suspension in person if possible. It is good practice to allow them to be accompanied at any suspension meeting and for the suspension to be confirmed in writing.

Do You Need Assistance?

The specialist employment law team at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD have extensive experience in advising UK Employers on staff suspensions.  If you have any queries about your options you can call us on 0800 612 4772, Contact Us via our website or Book a Free Consultation online.