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Dear Reader,
This month there is worrying news for employers from the European Court of Justice, which has looked at the question of holiday entitlement for employees who fall sick whilst on holiday. Also, the Government's plans to encourage fathers and mothers to share maternity/paternity leave is back on the agenda. Finally, don't forget that 1 October sees changes to National Minimum Wage rates and an extension in the cap on a week's pay for statutory redundancy payments - see below for more information.
Please contact me if you would like to find out a bit more about any of 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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Can employees who fall ill on holiday have more leave?
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| Confusion over minimum holiday entitlement for sick employees |
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled last week that employees are allowed to take additional paid leave if they fall sick while on holiday. Most employers give their employees the statutory minimum holiday entitlement, now that it has been increased to 28 days per year, and it is this statutory entitlement that came under scrutiny.
This clearly opens up the possibility of disputes over entitlements. Unscrupulous employees may try to use this ruling to claim additional leave whether or not they were actually ill whilst on holiday. As employees normally self-certify any illness of less than 7 days, it is going to be difficult for employers to be sure whether the illness claimed is genuine, particularly if employees are abroad at the time.
For employers who only give statutory sick pay (SSP) this is likely to be less of an issue, as employees off sick receive no pay for the first three days of absence and then only the relatively low statutory rate thereafter. Therefore, it is not normally attractive for them to swap paid holiday for unpaid, or low-paid, SSP.
Employers who pay company sick pay will need to review their terms and conditions to ensure that this ruling is taken into account.
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| Dads to be the new mums? |
Women can transfer some of their maternity leave to fathers
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The Goverment's long stated aim of encouraging fathers and mothers to share statutory leave on the birth of a child is back on the agenda. Consultation is due to commence shortly with a view to bringing in the new rules for parents of children born on or after 3 April 2011. However, it appears that its other stated aim of increasing maternity pay from 39 weeks to 52 weeks has been quietly shelved.
The new rules will allow women to transfer the last 6 months of their maternity leave to the father. The first three months will be paid at the statutory level (currently £123.06 per week) but the remainder will be unpaid. Parents will be required to "self-certify" when requesting the time off from their employers and both HMRC and employers will be able to carry out further checks (which are currently unspecified).
Currently fathers are entitled to one or two weeks' paternity leave, paid at the statutory level. Take up is very low, so it is likely that take up of this new facility will also be low. However, employers need to be aware of the entitlements and to ensure they allow appropriate time off in order to avoid disputes and to manage absence effectively.
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New Statutory Pay Levels
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National Minimum Wage and Redundancy Pay
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National Minimum Wage Increases
New rates apply with effect from 1 October 2009. Have a look at last month's newsletter for details.
Statutory Redundancy Pay
As announced in April's budget, the cap on a week's pay for the purposes of calculating statutory redundancy pay will increase from £350 to £380 in respect of any redundancy dismissals which take effect on or after 1 October 2009. |
