Employment Law Changes - You Need to Know!

It can be easy to miss the ever-evolving updates to working practices and employment law changes.

However, employers must adhere to these, to avoid potential consequences and to continue operating in line with legal parameters and best practice.

There remains a lot of uncertainty around the commencement dates of these changes, so it remains vital that the updates in the pipeline are closely monitored and any risks are assessed in advance.

We have summarised the below changes to support businesses who may need to adjust their ways of working and pre-empt any potential risks of non-compliance:

Right to Work

The Central Government has provided further clarification around what is deemmed as an appropriate right to work check and in which case it applies:

1. Manual Right to Work Check: All

2. Right to Work Check using IDVT via the services of an IDSP: British and Irish Citizens only.

3. Home Office Online Right to Work Check: Non-British and Irish Citizens only.

It has also been confirmed that right to work checks can be carried out via video link, but the employer must be in receipt of the original documentation and cannot accept scanned or faxed copies.

Annual Rates Increase

From the 1st of April, there are several changes which potentially could affect the pay of some employees.

• The National Minimum Wage is due to increase to £10.42 per hour for employees over 23 years of age.

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is set to increase to £109.40 per week.

All other statutory payments (Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Shared Parental Pay, and Parental Bereavement Pay)are all due to increase to £172.48 per week.

Bank Holiday

The Central Government have announced an additional bank holiday in recognition of the King’s upcoming coronation which is scheduled for Monday 8th May 2023. We must highlight that the entitlement for employees to receive the additional bank holiday is not automatic and relies heavily upon the wording of their existing Terms and Conditions of Employment.

With so many proposed changes in the pipeline in addition to the updates that have been confirmed, we appreciate it can be daunting and perhaps slightly confusing! However, we are here to take the pressure off and support you in implementing any changes and help navigate the legal jargon in the process.

If you would like help or guidance on any of the above, please get in touch and contact us at info@catherinekaneassociates.co.uk.