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Getting the Basics Right!
I cannot stress enough to each client I meet and any business owner that I speak to that getting the basics of employing people in the first instance before you do anything else is SO important.
The article I have posted the link to below just highlights this. For an employer of their size they should have basic employment rights in place such as holiday pay, pension contribution and a contract of employment. This isn’t even a “should have” but a “must have” otherwise as you can see from the article, they have been completely unlawful. Getting these things in place is not difficult providing you have the right guidance and support in place from an HR professional.
As of next year, April 2020, all employers will have to issue new starters their contract of employment from day one of employment. This changes from the current practice of providing them with this within the first two months of employment. If a new starter does not therefore receive this on their first day of work then you as the employer are liable.
One key piece of information that is highlighted within this article is regarding the new employee providing their ID and National Insurance (NI) number in order for the employer to be able to make the relevant deductions from their pay. This is, as quoted by the News, an “extraordinary basic failure” which is not acceptable in any workplace. An employee should receive a P45 on exit from their previous employer which will confirm their NI number already.
“The Start of the Employee Life Cycle” blog details what should be requested and provided by the employee before they start work with you. It is a legal requirement to ensure all new employees identification is checked before joining the company. For a British citizen this may either be a UK passport or birth certificate, and for a non UK resident, then a copy of their Visa which will confirm their current status in the UK.
Please do not end up in the same situation as this employer did and get the basics in place. If you are unsure of anything you have or don’t have in place, get in touch today.
10 Employment Law Myths Busted!
The below article posted via the HR Publication Personnel Today highlights 10 myths around employment law and what the facts are behind them.
I found this an interesting read and am sure most employers will too as there are some areas which may surprise you.
Often with clients and in previous employment with managers, Keeping In Touch (KIT) days when someone is on maternity leave is always an interesting subject. Many are under the impression that the 10 days entitled to an individual are pro-rata’d for those employees who are part time. This is however not the case and all employees on maternity leave are entitled to the full 10 days. Some organisations work it so that if someone does half a day this still counts as one of their ten days. Every company may operate differently with how they are managed. So long as the 10 days are given to the employee, it is entirely up to the employer how it is managed.
Also one to be aware of is statutory rights and probation periods. All new starters who join an organisation will (hopefully), have a set probation period. This is usually for a period of anywhere between 3-6 months, dependant on the nature of the business. From the moment that individual joins, they begin to accrue statutory rights, i.e. length of service, holiday entitlement etc. Employers should not take the stance that these rights accrue once the probation period is completed.
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/employment-law-10-myths-busted/
2019 Employment Law Update: Are you ready?
As like every other year, April will see some updates to employment legislation which include increases to areas of statutory pay entitled to all UK employees along with new changes to payslips.
These changes will be coming into effect as of 1st April 2019 so please ensure you are ready to amend all staff pay information and contracts with them:
National Minimum Wage
· Workers ages 25 and over - £8.21p hour
· Workers aged 21-24 - £7.70p hour
· Workers aged 18-20 - £6.15p hour
· Workers aged 16-17 - £4.35p hour
· Apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in first year of apprenticeship - £3.90p hour
Statutory Family Related Pay, Statutory Sick Pay and Redundancy Pay Rates
· Statutory sick pay - £94.25
· Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay - £148.68
· Statutory Redundancy pay - £525.00 is the new maximum amount for one week pay when calculating redundancy pay
Pension Contribution Increases
From 6th April 2019, the minimum employer contribution to pension is 3% and minimum employee contribution is 5%. Therefore the minimum total percentage to be paid into pension is 8%.
Payslips
There are two changes to payslips that came into effect on 6th April 2019; requirement to include total number of hours worked on payslips and the right to receive a payslip will be extended to workers as well as employees.
Next Steps:
In order to ensure you are compliant with the above, I would suggest you now do the following:
1. Review all staff and ensure they are on the correct National Minimum Wage rates
2. Write to all staff confirming the increases
3. Explain to staff there have been pension increases
4. Review payslips ensuring they are compliant with the above
5. Review statutory payments
For any further information on any of the above changes get in touch via the “Get in Touch” button.
The start of the Employee Life Cycle
Many employers will see the start of a new employees journey with them begin on the day they start with the company. This however is not true, a new employees journey starts back when you were interviewing for the position you had vacant. The individual attends their interview, you decide they are the preferred candidate and go through your recruitment process to offering them the position. The lead up to their first day with you is all part of their journey.
You may be asking yourself “what do I need to be doing before they start with me”? This is where the support of an HR Consultant can help if you don’t have a process to deal with new starters. There are some very important and crucial elements of the employee life cycle that you have to do before the person starts on their first day;
· Formally offer them the job after interview stage (ideally this should be in writing as well as a conversation over the phone or in person - via email is sufficient). You will confirm to them that an employment contract will shortly follow (you have 8 weeks to send this to them).
· Ask them that they are ok with you now taking up references for them from previous employers. The information for this will either be specified on their CV or application form they applied for the job with. Please note: following the introduction of GDPR in 2018, you need to ensure the individual is happy for you to obtain references for them and I would advise you also get this in writing and save a copy.
· Carry out Right to Work checks in line with UK employment legislation. All offers of employment should be subject to right to work in the UK. This is to ensure the individual is eligible to work in the UK and to cover your back should anything go wrong. For detail on how you do this, just get in touch.
· Send them their employment contract along with any other information useful for them before they start on their first day.
These four elements are so important when taking on a new member of staff. I often speak to clients who do not either take up references or carry out right to work checks but they are both so vital for you as a business owner and should be done on every new appointment.
For further information on how to implement either a Recruitment Procedure or process just get in touch using the “Get in Touch” tab.