Employment law updates – 2016 and beyond

11 January 2016

The draft Repayment of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2016 provide that employees in the public sector with annual earnings of £100,000 or more repay exit payments where they return to work in the public sector within one year of leaving. Exit payments for public sector employees are capped at £95,000

The Regulations bring into force the offence of slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour in Scotland.

The Posted Workers (Enforcement of Employment Rights) Regulations 2016 introduce a new right for a posted worker in the construction industry to bring a claim for non-payment of wages against his or her employer’s contractor.

The European Union Referendum (Date of Referendum etc) Regulations 2016 set the date for the holding of a referendum in the UK and Gibraltar on whether or not the UK should remain a member of the EU.

The Regulations implement the Electromagnetic Fields Directive (2013/35/EU).

The Immigration Act 2016 (Commencement No.1) Regulations 2016 implement several provisions in the Immigration Act 2016.

New rules on whistleblowing for financial sector introduced, including a requirement to appoint a whistleblowers’ champion and for all UK-based staff and their managers to receive appropriate training on blowing the whistle.

The national minimum wage increases in line with the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations.

Employers are required to publish information showing gender pay differences. Only for Companies with 250 or more employees.  First reports due 2018

New requirement for employers that are “prescribed persons” to report annually on whistleblowing claims.

Families where both parents work and each parent earns less than £100,000 per year are eligible to receive 20% of their yearly childcare costs.

An apprenticeship levy of 0.5% of their wage bill to be paid by all large employers in all sectors to fund apprenticeships from 6 April 2017.

Future changes to the hourly rate of the national minimum wage and the national living wage will take place at the same time in April each year.

Employers with 250 or more employees in the private and voluntary sectors are required to calculate their gender pay gap and bonus pay gap calculated from pay information using the employer’s usual pay period in which 30 April falls.

Employers will be liable to pay national insurance contributions on termination payments above £30,000.

Annual gender pay gap reporting requirement introduced for employers in the private and voluntary sectors with 250 or more employees to publish the differences in pay and bonuses between male and female employees.

The EU General Data Protection Regulation replaces the current Data Protection Directive

Shared parental leave is to be extended to allow grandparents to take time off work.

The state pension age for women is equalised with the state pension age for men by November 2018, with an expedited increase from April 2016.

The Pensions Act 2007 raises the state pension age from 65 to 66 years to reflect the ageing nature of the population.

The Pensions Act 2007 raises the state pension age for men and women to 67.

The Pensions Act 2007 raises the state pension age for men and women to 68.

In Autumn statement 2013 the Chancellor of the Exchequer indicated that the state pension age for men and women is likely to rise to 69 from the late-2040s.

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 includes a provision that provides increased protection for NHS whistleblowers.

The Bill will introduce a number of proposed changes.

·         50% turnout threshold for there to be a valid ballot on industrial ballot.

·         Threshold of 40% support from all eligible members entitled to vote in order to take industrial action in key sectors.

·         4 month time limit for which the ballot will remain valid to authorise industrial action.

The Enterprise Act 2016 introduces new measures to support small businesses and introduces a cap on redundancy payments to public sector workers.

Future rates of income tax personal allowance will ensure that workers on the national minimum wage working 30 hours a week will not pay income tax.

The Immigration Act 2016 includes measures to tackle illegal working and to reduce Britain’s reliance on migrant workers.

The draft Public Sector Exit Payment Regulations 2016 provide that exit payments to public-sector workers are capped at £95,000.

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 prescribes that the Government must add “caste” to the definition of “race” under the Equality Act 2010.

The Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 sets out the framework to make changes to whistleblowing legislation and introduce mandatory pre-claim conciliation and gender pay gap reporting in Northern Ireland.