Tag: Employment Law

The Government have reported that it will enforce workers’ rights from their first day in a new job.

On 7^th February, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said it had acted on “all but one of Matthew Taylors 53 recommendations.”

It has been proposed that the Good Work Plan will ensure that all workers, including casual and zero-hour workers will receive basic rights and payslips and, for the first time, ensure all workers receive holiday and sick pay.

In addition, the Good Work Plan will seek to guarantee the right for all workers to request a more stable contract of employment.

Greg Clark, Business Secretary said: “The Taylor Review said that the current approach to employment is successful but we should build on that success, in preparing for future opportunities.”

“We want to embrace new ways of working, and to do so we will be one of the first countries to prepare out employment rules to reflect new challenges.”

“We will take forward Matthew Taylors recommendations and commit to pursuing the quality of work as well as the number of jobs.”

However, before taking any further action, the Government have said it will consult with businesses on the impact of plans to enforce employment rights, change rules concerning agency workers, increase transparency in the labour market and consider employment status.

The Good Work Plan will include:

• Tougher regulations for sectors who employ unpaid interns to do the job of a worker
• Publishing names of employers who fail to pay Employment Tribunal awards
• Quadrupling Employment Tribunal fines for employers who have shown malice, spite or gross oversight to £20,000
• Higher minimum wage rates for individuals on zero-hour contracts

Matthew Taylor, the leading author of the Taylor Review and Chief Executive of the RSA said: “There is much more to be done to make good work for all a realistic goal, but the Government’s response, emphasising that the good work agenda must now change up a gear for Government, businesses and unions alike.”

“There is much more to be done to make good work for all a realistic goal, but the government’s response to my review is substantive and comprehensive. It will make a difference to the lives of the most vulnerable workers and that is what matters.”

Employment Status – Worker or Employee?

At present, an individual’s employment rights will depend upon whether they are an employee or a worker.

An individual is generally classes as a worker if:

• They have a contract or other arrangements to do work or services personally for a reward
• Their reward is for money or a benefit in kind
• They only have a limited right to send someone else to do the work
• They have to turn up for work even if they do not want to
• Their employer has to have work for them to do as long as the contract or arrangement lasts

Employment Rights

Workers are entitled to certain employment rights which include:

• National Minimum Wage
• Protection against unlawful deduction of wages
• The statutory minimum level of paid annual leave
• The statutory minimum length of rest breaks
• To not work more than 48 hours in one week or to opt out of this right if they choose
• Protection against unlawful discrimination
• To not be treated less favourably if they work part-time

An employee is someone who works under a contract of employment. All employees are workers; however, an employee has extra employment rights and responsibilities that do not apply to workers who are not employees.

Employment Rights

These rights include all of the rights workers have and:

• Statutory sick pay
• Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave and pay
• Minimum notice periods if their employment will be terminated
• Protection against unfair dismissal
• Right to request flexible working
• Time off for emergencies
• Statutory redundancy pay

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 employment law packages here, or get in touch.

The festive excitement that makes people happy in December comes to a crash in January when everyone has to return to work.

Christmas is now just a distant memory, January can therefore be perceived as the most depressing month of the year. According to the Metro, the third Monday in January is ‘Blue Monday’ – scientifically the worst day of the year.

It is important that employers recognise the risks associated with not managing employee’s health and well-being effectively.

To make a positive and productive start to the year, here is how to help employees tackle those January blues.

(1)    Discourage Presenteeism

Presenteeism, is more formally known as when an employee comes into work even when they are unwell.

As an employer, you expect your team to work productively and meet targets, but when an individual is unwell, it will become difficult for them to focus on what is expected of them. In some cases, they are more likely to work slower and make mistakes.

In addition, the illness may spread, having one team member down may be difficult but having a full office unwell could be disastrous.

Therefore, employers should not apply absence policies so vigorously that staff force themselves into work before recovering properly. Showing your employees that you care about their health will build on employee morale and a more productive working environment.

(2)    Recognition

Employers should never underestimate the power of recognition. One of the main factors of motivation amongst a workforce is the feeling of being recognised and appreciated. January is an ideal time to say thank you for all their hard work over the past year.

Simple gestures such as, a company-wide email or a special mention in a meeting will go a long way. Employers will be surprised at how much drive is generated from this.

(3)    Incentivise employees

Just like recognition, rewards are just as important. At Employment Law Services (ELS), we promote recognition to help motivate your staff. However, if some form of reward does not follow after time, your employees will lose their devotion and come to the conclusion that there will be no pay off for their efforts.

Rewards can take form through a variety of shapes and sizes. Tangible rewards are material rewards given by a company to its staff in return for providing a good service. For example, cash bonus, fringe benefits, pay rise, gym membership etc.

However, it is suggested that intangible rewards are just as effective and cost the company far less. For example, taking an employee out for lunch to thank them for their hard work or providing them with additional annual leave can see a huge impact on the company.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

The New Year provides employers with an opportunity to start fresh and achieve success. To do this you require a fully focused team. We would love to play a part of your future success, contact us today for your free consultation. 0800 612 4772

Over the last year, employment law headlines have been dominated by case law developments on employment status, annual leave, religious dress in the workplace and shared parental leave.

In July, the UK saw one of the most significant employment law decisions of the last 50 years; tribunal fees were found as unlawful.

(1)  R (on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor (Supreme Court)

Regardless of what side of the employment law fence you sit on, the decision of this case is without a doubt a phenomenal victory for Unison.

Unison began their legal battle back in 2013 and were rejected twice at the High Court and once at the Court of Appeal. It was in July 2017, that the seven judges ruled unanimously that the requirement of having to pay £1,200 for a claim to be heard in the Employment Tribunal was a serious impediment to an individual’s access to justice.

Following this decision, the Government was forced to terminate Employment Tribunal fees with immediate effect.

(2)  Pimlico Plumbers Ltd & another v Smith

Cases of worker status have continuously dominated the headlines in 2017. In this case the respondents argued that Mr Smith was employed on a self-employed basis. However, the defendant successfully argued that he was a worker for the purposes of employment legislation. The key factors considered in this ruling included:

• Mr Smith was required to wear a uniform with the company’s logo on it;
• He was contracted to work a minimum number of hours each week;
• If he was going to be absent, he was not required to provide a substitute to carry out his work in place of him;
• The employment agreement was made up of restrictive covenants which prohibited the defendant from working as a plumber in any Greater part of London.

Despite it being held in the Court of Appeal; that the claimant was a worker and should be entitled to employment rights, Pimlico Plumbers have appealed to the Supreme Court. This hearing has been predicted to take place early next year.

(3)  Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd

Mr Ali’s wife was suffering from post-natal depression and had been recommended by her GP to return to work to support recovery. Because of this, Mr Ali requested to take shared parental leave at the earliest opportunity. His workplace policy stated that women on maternity leave should receive full salary for 14 weeks and any time after this would be paid at statutory maternity rates for the following 25 weeks.

In this case the employer had only offered the claimant the statutory minimum pay. Which meant that once he had taken his 2 weeks’ paternity leave, anything after would result in a substantial loss in earnings. Mr Ali argued that by his employers refusing to pay him the same rates as the child mother, was a matter of sex discrimination. The respondent contended that Mr Ali could not compare his situation to his partner on maternity leave as he was not the one who had given birth.

The Employment Tribunal agreed with the claimant, 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. Thus, the ET up-held the claimants direct sex discrimination claim.

(4)  Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willetts

In this case 56 employees of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council argued that their holiday pay should include voluntary over time, as well as out-of-hours standby and call out payments.

The Employment Tribunal established in this case that for the majority of employees, voluntary overtime and allowances should have included holiday pay for the 4 weeks statutory minimum leave. This was because they were paid regularly enough to be considered as part of the normal remuneration. The EAT reiterated the Employment Tribunals decision on appeal.

The decision of this case highlights that payments for voluntary elements of work, not just overtime, should not be treated any differently. It is further observed in this case that out-of-hours standby payments and call-out allowances should have been included.

This may not always be simple, as the EAT fail to provide employers with guidance on what level of regularity or frequency is required for a payment to be classed as standard remuneration.

(5)  Achbita & another v G4S Secure Solutions

In this case the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held that prohibiting a female employee of Muslim faith from wearing an Islamic headscarf at work did not amount to direct discrimination based on religion.

When providing guidance, the ECJ established that, as long as the rules were applied consistently across the board, having a rule asking staff to dress “neutrally” cannot constitute to direct discrimination.

However, they did caution that having a “neutral” dress code rule may lead to claims of direct discrimination if there is evidence that individuals of a particular religion are then disadvantaged.

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.

Please note, the information in this article is for guidance purposes only and it is therefore advised that employers seek legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.