Update of key compliance issues in November

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that overtime pay must be included in holiday pay calculations.

PricewaterhouseCoopers lost a sex discrimination case against an employee, Erik Pietzka, who wanted to work flexibly but had his request rejected. The employment tribunal heard that the employee who dealt with Pietzka’s application was of the belief that flexible working hours for family purposes were more suited to female workers than male workers.

The UK living wage increased to £7.85 an hour and the London living wage rose to £9.15 an hour.

The Pensions Regulator has issued its first fines and three fixed-penalty notices, each fining employers £400 for failing to meet auto-enrolment duties.

A number of actors who worked under a profit-sharing arrangement have been denied the right to be paid the national minimum wage. The Employment Appeal Tribunal rejected the original judgment because it failed to apply the correct legal test to see whether the employed actors were defined as ‘workers’.

The government is to abolish short service pension refunds for employees who leave an employer after less than two years’ service. It intends to bring in the new measures from October 2015.

All civil service employees will be entitled to full parental leave pay from April 2015.