Category: Employment law

Q. What are the up and coming changes to holiday pay, WTR and TUPE?

Following consultation processes upon which we have previously reported, the Government has published its response and draft legislation. The intention is that the legislation comes into force on 1 January 2024 and key elements are: Changes to holiday pay The Government has sought to address the confusion generated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Harpur Trust v Brazel on the issue of holiday pay for part-year and irregular hours workers. The new regulations therefore provide that for part-year and irregular hours workers (as defined): They will accrue annual leave…

29th November 2023

Q. Can you afford a £45,000 fine from the Home Office?

As an employer, you have a legal obligation to check the right to work documentation for every employee that works for you. Currently, if you fail to have the right documentation on file for every employee that works for you, as a first offence, you could be fined £15,000 per employee who doesn’t have the right documentation on file. This fine has been in place since 2014, and we routinely check this documentation is on file for the employees of our retained clients. This fine will be increased from £15,000…

28th November 2023

Q. When can an employer reject a request for flexible working?

An employer can refuse a statutory request for flexible working if the refusal is based on one or more specific grounds. The list of grounds for refusal; as set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996. The specified grounds for refusal are: the burden of additional costs; a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand; an inability to reorganise work among existing staff or recruit additional staff; a detrimental impact on quality or performance; insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work; planned structural changes; or…

6th November 2023

Q. Can employers refuse holiday requests during a particular period?

Yes, employers and workers can agree notice arrangements for annual leave. In the absence of a relevant agreement or provision in a worker’s contract of employment, under the working time regulations of 1998, the notice period that a worker must give to take annual leave must be at least twice the amount of annual leave to be taken e.g., if an employee wants to take one week’s annual leave, they should give the employer at least two weeks’ notice. The employer is entitled to refuse the worker permission to take…

6th November 2023

Q. Is an employee who suffers a miscarriage eligible to receive statutory maternity pay?

It depends on at what stage of the pregnancy the miscarriage occurs and whether they meet the normal eligibility requirements. The date of the employee’s expected week of childbirth on the MatB1 form should be used to calculate in which week of pregnancy they were when the miscarriage occurred. An employee who suffers a miscarriage before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy will not be eligible to receive Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). However, if an employee has a miscarriage or still birth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, SMP…

6th November 2023

Q. Must an employer disclose notes and witness statements produced during a grievance or disciplinary procedure if an employee requests them?

Employees have the right under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (retained from EU Regulation 2016/679 EU) to request access to information about them that is held on file, whether manually or on computer. For example, an employee who has raised a grievance and is not satisfied with the outcome may request copies of the written evidence on which the decision was made, including statements obtained from witnesses; or an employee about whom a grievance has been made may request evidence relating to the complaint. The employer can refuse to…

28th September 2023

Q. When can an employer dismiss an employee on the grounds of ill health?

Lack of capability, including when assessed with reference to health, is a potentially fair reason for dismissal under s.98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The employer must show that it acted reasonably both in treating the long-term ill health as a sufficient reason for dismissing the employee and in the procedure adopted to effect the dismissal. When an employer is considering dismissing an employee on grounds of long-term ill health, it should investigate the prospects of the employee being able to return to work within a reasonable time. A…

28th September 2023

Q. Can an employer invite an employee to attend a disciplinary hearing when they are on sick leave?

Where an employee who is subject to disciplinary proceedings is absent due to a short-term illness, the most appropriate course of action is likely to be for the employer to postpone the hearing until the employee is well enough to attend. If the employee is on long-term sickness absence, the employer must balance the need to avoid unreasonable delay in the process with the importance of allowing the employee to put their case before it makes a decision. The employer should take steps to determine whether or not the employee…

28th September 2023

Q. Where an employee is provided with a car allowance instead of a company car, can this be withdrawn if they go on maternity leave?

Whether or not an employee is entitled to a car allowance during maternity leave is unclear. During both ordinary and additional maternity leave an employee is entitled to continue to benefit from all the terms and conditions of employment – except for those regarding remuneration – that would have applied had they been at work. Whether or not a car allowance is “remuneration” for these purposes is unclear. Only sums payable to an employee by way of wages or salary are treated as remuneration (reg.9 of the Maternity and Parental…

28th September 2023

Q. Can an underperforming employee on a fixed-term contract be dismissed before the end of the fixed term?

The nature of a fixed-term contract is usually that both employer and employee agree as part of the contract that it will continue for a fixed period, or until an agreed task or project is completed, or until a specified event occurs, for example the return to work of an employee on maternity leave. The early dismissal of an underperforming fixed-term employee would be in breach of contract, unless the contract includes a notice clause. An exception to this would be in the case of gross misconduct on the part…

28th September 2023

Category: Employment law

Q. What are the up and coming changes to holiday pay, WTR and TUPE?

Q. Can you afford a £45,000 fine from the Home Office?

Q. When can an employer reject a request for flexible working?

Q. Can employers refuse holiday requests during a particular period?

Q. Is an employee who suffers a miscarriage eligible to receive statutory maternity pay?

Q. Must an employer disclose notes and witness statements produced during a grievance or disciplinary procedure if an employee requests them?

Q. When can an employer dismiss an employee on the grounds of ill health?

Q. Can an employer invite an employee to attend a disciplinary hearing when they are on sick leave?

Q. Where an employee is provided with a car allowance instead of a company car, can this be withdrawn if they go on maternity leave?

Q. Can an underperforming employee on a fixed-term contract be dismissed before the end of the fixed term?

Filter by

Services

Resources

About

Connect

Meraki HR South:
Registered Address:
Unit 5 - The Workshed,
London Street,
Swindon
SN1 5DG

Meraki HR North:
Office Location:
Suite 4, Kendal Business Hub,
South Lakeland House,
Angel Yard, 21-23 Highgate,
Kendal, LA9 4DY

Meraki HR South:
Unit 5 - The Workshed,
London Street,
Swindon
SN1 5DG

Meraki HR North:
Suite 4, Kendal Business Hub,
South Lakeland House,
Angel Yard, 21-23 Highgate,
Kendal, LA9 4DY

Your people | our passion | your success

© 2022 Meraki HR Solutions Ltd, Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies | Sitemap

Book a call with us here

01865 648548 / 01539 482709

hello@merakihr.com

Category: Employment law

Filter by

Services

Resources

About

Connect

Meraki HR South:Registered Address:Unit 5 - The Workshed, London Street, SwindonSN1 5DG

Meraki HR North:Office Location:Suite 4, Kendal Business Hub, South Lakeland House, Angel Yard, 21-23 Highgate, Kendal, LA9 4DY

Meraki HR South: Unit 5 - The Workshed, London Street, SwindonSN1 5DG

Meraki HR North: Suite 4, Kendal Business Hub, South Lakeland House, Angel Yard, 21-23 Highgate, Kendal, LA9 4DY

Your people | our passion | your success

© 2022 Meraki HR Solutions Ltd, Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies | Sitemap

Meraki HR South:
Registered Address:
Unit 5 - The Workshed,
London Street,
Swindon
SN1 5DG

Meraki HR North:
Office Location:
Suite 4, Kendal Business Hub,
South Lakeland House,
Angel Yard, 21-23 Highgate,
Kendal, LA9 4DY

Meraki HR South:
Unit 5 - The Workshed,
London Street,
Swindon
SN1 5DG

Meraki HR North:
Suite 4, Kendal Business Hub,
South Lakeland House,
Angel Yard, 21-23 Highgate,
Kendal, LA9 4DY