Opinion
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Opinion
James Townsend and Elizabeth Coyle: Dealing with equal pay tribunals
On 22 August 2024, an employment tribunal held that Next discriminated against more than 3,500 female store staff by paying them lower hourly wages than male warehouse operatives. Sales consultants received lower pay of up to £3 per hour, meaning their average annual salary differential was more ...
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Opinion
Keely Rushmore: What can employers learn from the Next employment tribunal judgment?
Keely Rushmore Source: From Keystone Law Keely Rushmore, employment partner at Keystone Law The employment tribunal judgment in the case of high street retailer Next serves as a reminder that roles that may seem very different can be compared against each other under the equality legislation, to ...
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Opinion
Ann Frances Cooney: Potential impact of the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
The draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill was announced in the King’s Speech in July. The new Labour government confirmed that the draft bill delivers its manifesto commitments to enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people, and to introduce ...
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Opinion
Gail Irvine: How can employers encourage staff to save money?
UK Savings Week (9-15 September 2024) is a timely reminder of the financial challenges workers face when it comes to saving. The cost-of-living crisis has made it harder than ever before to set money aside, hitting the UK’s 3.7 million low-paid workers the hardest. For those on the lowest pay, ...
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Opinion
Confessions of a benefits manager: Candid looks into pay transparency
Although the EU pay transparency regulations don’t yet come into force, I am conscious we will have a great deal to do to prepare. To get up to speed on the latest, I register for a masterclass webinar held by our advisers, Smarmy Consultants. I am working ...
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Opinion
Louise Lawrence: Legal implications and requirements of managing sickness absence
Managing sickness absence can be a daunting task for many employers to handle, as it often requires striking a fine balance of having a delicate approach in supporting employees, while considering business needs of minimising business disruption and costs. An October 2023 report from the Chartered Institute ...
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Opinion
The Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill and the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024
On 6 December 2023, the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons as a Private Member’s Bill by Chris Elmore, a Labour MP, with support from Darren Henry, a Conservative MP. It enjoyed the support of the government and across ...
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Opinion
Richard Branson: Prepare for proposed increases to national minimum wage
In April 2024, the previous Conservative government increased the national minimum wage (NMW) for people over the age of 23 from £10.42 per hour to £11.44, a rise of 9.8%. The NMW rate for 21 and 22-year-olds also moved to £11.44 per hour from its previous rate of £10.18, representing ...
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Opinion
Confessions of a benefits manager: Candid reviews the reward strategy
It is always the way when Big Bad Boss comes back from a seminar; he gets a rush of enthusiasm for making changes. Well, not so much for making them, but for making me make them. This time he wants me to review the reward strategy. Now as it happens, ...
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Opinion
Samantha O'Sullivan: Employers need to prepare for P11D changes
It is no surprise the government is mandating the payrolling of benefits in kind (BIK) and expenses, with paper P11D submissions being abolished in April 2023. However, mandating payrolling of BIKs was introduced by a previous government; will Labour agree and pursue an implementation date of April 2026?Employers need to ...
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Opinion
Patrick Glencross: Reforms to employee holiday rights
Calculating annual leave and holiday pay for employees can be challenging, particularly for those who work irregular hours. The government has this year introduced significant changes to simplify the rules on holiday rights as part of its reforms to a range of employment rights that have developed from years of ...
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Opinion
Lovewell's logic: Watching the Labour government bed in
We are now just over a week on from the Labour party storming to victory in the UK’s general election. The last time the UK moved to a Labour government after a period of Conservative rule, I was still at school and remember teachers trying to explain the significance of ...
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Opinion
Vicky Schollar: What is the potential impact of changes to the fit note system?
It was announced in April that GPs may no longer be required to sign off fit notes and that responsibility will be passed to an unspecified healthcare specialist. What do the possible legal implications of this look like and what will be the impact on employees?A sick note, or fitness ...
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Opinion
Yvonne Gallagher: Striking the balance: the effect of industrial action on pay and benefits
The most powerful tool at the hands of the employee is the withdrawal of their labour, without which the business cannot function.Typically, industrial action takes place in relation to disputes over pay and benefits, but as we have seen in a number of disputes in the last year or two, ...
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Opinion
Helen Watson: BBC equal pay case: implications for settlement agreements and discrimination claims
The BBC once again made the HR headlines following the news that four female presenters have lost their bid to take legal action against the corporation on grounds of equal pay. For employment law professionals, the case certainly poses an interesting challenge, with it being revealed that equal pay issues ...
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Opinion
Nick Hurley and Annie Green: The impact of dropping the real living wage pledge
Earlier this year, Brewdog announced that due to trading losses and financial instability, it will drop its real living wage pledge from April onwards. While many employers will have suffered similar financial difficulties as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, the business’ decision to pull out of the real living ...
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Opinion
Nick Bustin: What are the benefits of pension salary sacrifice schemes?
Pension salary sacrifice schemes are not a new concept, but one that all employers should consider, especially at a time where the tax burden on both employers and employees is high. These schemes, which see employees sacrifice some of their monthly salary in return for increased employer pension contributions, are ...
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Opinion
Lovewell's logic: Should ethnicity pay gap reporting be mandatory?
As we approach this year’s deadline for gender pay gap reporting, we have seen an increasing number of organisations choosing to voluntarily publish their ethnicity pay gap data alongside this.In the past few weeks alone, these have included Greggs, which reported a 5.78% mean ethnicity pay gap for 2023, Nationwide ...
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Opinion
Lee McIntyre-Hamilton: Changes to national insurance and the impact on employment
The new year has already brought some welcome news for employees, with the cut in employee national insurance contributions (NICs) from 12% to 10%. As of 6 January 2024, the cut means that all employees who currently pay NIC will benefit.The extent of the savings will depend on an employee’s ...
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Opinion
Mirit Ehrenstein and Louise Mason: Changes to remuneration, pay transparency and diversity metrics in 2023
The end of 2023 saw considerable changes to regulation and guidance around many employment issues, including remuneration, pay transparency and diversity metrics.The bonus cap has been removed. This means that UK banks that had to limit variable remuneration to 200% of fixed pay are now permitted to pay bonuses at ...