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Dear Subscriber,
I predict that 2009 will see an increase in claims to the employment tribunals as many firms continue to make staff redundant, and perhaps take the opportunity presented by a down-turn in business to select for redundancy those staff members who they believe are least effective or most problematic. Whilst this seems like a sensible approach, it can often lead employers into difficulty when facing a subsequent claim (see my redundancy guide for more details).
If you find a tribunal claim in the post over the next few weeks, please contact me for some immediate and free advice.
In the news this month: a dramatic change in the law related to paid holiday for employees on long term sick leave; increases in certain statutory rates (including redundancy pay); and a reminder that the increase in statutory holiday in April, may impact on your staff's holiday entitlement from the start of the year.
Please contact me if you would like to find out a bit more about these issues. If you need any help or advice why not take advantage of my free initial consultation.
Please forward this email to any of your contacts who might find it of benefit.
Regards
Peter Etherington  Tel: 01664 430373
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| Are you off sick or on holiday? |
| The European Court decides that the UK's rules on holiday need to change |
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has just ruled on the question of workers' entitlement to paid holiday whilst off sick. It said that a worker retains the right to holiday whilst off sick and should be paid in lieu of the holiday if unable to take it due to sickness absence. The ECJ also said that on termination a worker should be paid for any holiday from previous holiday years if their period of sick leave went back that far.
This is complete reversal of the current legal position in the UK, where the Court of Appeal ruled in 2005 that workers off sick were not entitled to paid holiday and that any outstanding holiday would be lost at the end of a holiday year.
The ECJ's verdict, therefore, is unwelcome for employers and is likely to cost some of them a lot of money in additional holiday payments and termination costs. This means it is even more essential that employers manage sickness absence effectively and do not forget about employees who go off sick on a long-term basis (as discussed in November's newsletter). It is possible also that the issue of carry forward of holiday from one year to the next may have an impact on other forms of absence (such as maternity leave), but we will need to wait to see what the House of Lords (who referred the question to the ECJ) decides to do in light of the ECJ's decision and any subsequent change that the government may feel compelled to make to the Working Time Regulations before this becomes clear. |
| Did you know that the cost of redundancy is about to go up? |
| Increases in statutory payments |
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From 1 February 2009 increases to certain statutory payments will apply. The main ones are:
- The maximum week's pay for statutory redundancy pay calculations will be £350 (currently £330). That means that the maximum redundancy payment increases from £9,900 to £10,500.
- The maximum compensatory award in unfair dismissal cases increases to £66,200 (from £63,000)
- The daily guarantee payment (for employee's laid off temporarily) increases to £21.50 (from £20.40)
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| Do you need to review your budget for holiday costs? |
| Statutory holiday increases this year |
The statutory holiday entitlement increases on 1 April to 5.6 weeks per year from its current level of 4.8 weeks. 5.6 weeks is equivalent to 28 days for someone working a 5 day week. The statutory entitlement can include bank holidays, so if you give full timers 20 days plus the bank holidays at the moment, you do not need to increase that entitlement.
If your holiday year runs from 1 January you need to review the holiday entitlement for your staff now, as the increase in April will impact on their entitlement on a pro rata basis. For instance, if you currently give your staff 24 days' holiday each year (including bank holidays), their entitlement for 2009 would be 27 days.
Please contact me if you want to check whether or not you need to change your holiday entitlement. |
