Employment Law
Changes April 2014
This
week sees a number of Employment Law changes in areas that affect companies and
businesses each day. The changes are far reaching, and cover areas from
discrimination and pension auto-enrolment to employment tribunals and
maternity.
AllingtonHughes Ltd are urging businesses to be aware of these changes to ensure they do
not fall foul of the new legislation.
The
main changes are as follows:-
● The Acas Early Conciliation rules come
into force on 6 April 2014. Before a person lodges an Employment Tribunal
claim, they will have to notify Acas by completing an online form. Acas will
then aim to make contact with both parties and talk through the issues to see
if a solution can be found. Acas will have up to one month to achieve
resolution before a formal claim to the Employment Tribunal can proceed.
● A number of tribunal award limits are
increasing. For dismissals where the effective date of termination is on or
after 6 April 2014, the maximum amount of a week’s pay, used to calculate
unfair dismissal basic awards and statutory redundancy payments, will rise to
£464 (from £450).
The maximum compensatory award for
ordinary unfair dismissal claims will be £76,574.
● From 6 April 2014, there will be
statutory increases to maternity pay, ordinary and additional paternity pay,
and statutory adoption pay from £136.78 to £138.18.
● As of 1 April 2014, the time period
for employers enrolling eligible workers into a qualified pension scheme will
increase from one month to six weeks.
● Section 138 of the Equality Act 2010
is repealed on 6 April 2014, with effect that provisions enabling an individual
to obtain information from the employer about discrimination and for information
to be used as evidence in tribunal proceedings no longer apply.
In addition to the changes above, from 6 April 2014, the
standard rate of statutory sick pay increases from £86.70 to £87.55 per week
and Small Employers will no longer be able to reclaim any SSP from HMRC, as the
Percentage Threshold Scheme for recovery of SSP is being abolished from 6th
April 2014.
It is important that businesses
are aware of these changes, and should any further information be required,
please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Employment Team on 01978 291000 for Wrexham, 01244 312166 for Chester or 01492 641222 for Llanrwst.
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| Gerallt Hughes, Director and head of Employment Law. |
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| Melissa Bramwell, a member of our Employment Law team. |
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