By Floyd Graham
FG Solicitors
From GDPR to sexual harassment in the workplace, 2018 was a very busy year for employers. Will employers have a better time of it in 2019?
While workplace practices in relation to data protection and sexual harassment will continue to be main themes, pay, equality, transparency and Brexit will be prominent concerns.
Pay, benefits, and equality
Increases to the wage bill will need to be accounted for and pay transparency will be a high priority for larger organisations.
April will be the busiest time with the annual increase to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage (NMW) coming into play. The maximum hourly rate for workers 25 or over will increase to £8.21. While apprentices under 19 will be entitled to £3.90 per hour. Full details of all the age dependent hourly pay increases have been published by the government at www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates.
The latest increases to pension contributions under auto enrolment will apply, with contributions for both employers and employees set to rise from two per cent and three per cent to three per cent and five per cent, respectively.
Large private and voluntary sector employers with more than 250 employees will need to publish their comparative pay rates for men and women. It is anticipated that the figures are likely to be heavily scrutinised to establish if the reporting is driving the desired results to reduce significant pay differences. The same group of employers will also need to start preparing for CEO pay gap reporting, with the first pay ratio reports likely to fall due in 2020.
With compliance in mind, employers must ensure from April that the new rules around the content of payslips and who must receive one are recognised in their payroll processes.
Finally, pay will also be a hot topic during the year for the courts and employment tribunal but for different reasons. Two areas to look out for will be:
* Equal pay
Several big name retailers are being challenged about their pay practices when it comes to paying male depot staff more than female retail workers. Whilst the work is different, the argument is that the roles have a comparable value, so the pay should be the same. These types of claim are complex and can lead to significant back pay claims, which should stand as warning to employers to ensure staff are paid fairly and equally.
* National minimum wage for sleep-ins
Last year the Court of Appeal decided in the case of Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake that individuals working on sleep-in shifts (e.g. nurses, care workers etc), would not be entitled to NMW for time spent asleep even though they had to be ‘available for work’. Given the impact this decision has on thousands of workers particularly in the care sector, Unison has sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, so this is unlikely to be the end of the matter.
Settled status for EU nationals
We could not get away without mentioning Brexit. What seemed certain at the start of December 2018 was the EU settlement scheme allowing EU workers currently living in the UK to apply for the right to stay in the UK indefinitely. However, at the time of writing the exit deal had not been voted on, with the suggestion that in the case of a no-deal scenario there may be stricter requirements for applicants. Hopefully, by the time you read this article there will be greater clarity and certainty for employers and EU nationals.
Non-disclosure agreements
Workplace disputes do occur and the use of non-disclosures agreements (NDAs) are a commonplace occurrence usually finding their way into settlement agreements. In most cases a balance between commercial and personal interests can be reached. However, the government has decided to bring forward its review of NDAs referring to them as ‘unethical’, with the concern that workplace harassment is being left unchallenged. For the time being there is no change to the law but following the review there may be greater restriction on the use of NDAs, sanctions for misuse and a possible extension to the whistleblowing protection. NDAs are, therefore, another one to watch out for.
By our assessment, 2019 is likely to be equally busy, if not busier for employers when it comes to people management and employment law.
For more information, contact a member of the FG Solicitors team on 01604 871143 or email
