legislation update
New and changing employment legislation can prove to be a complication for any business, regardless of size. As the recruitment experts, we are able to advise and update you on the current legislation allowing you to focus on your core business.
Listed below are some of the latest legislation updates.
National Minimum Wage
As of the 1st October 2012 the National Minimum Wage changes are set out below:
- Workers aged 21 and over - will rise to £6.19 per hour
- Workers aged 18-20 - to remain at £4.98 per hour
- Workers aged 16-17 - to remain at £3.68 per hour
- Apprentice - will rise to £2.65 per hour
For more information please contact you local Select consultant or visit www.berr.gov.uk.
General Employment Update
The qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims will increase to 2 years. The increased qualifying period shall only apply to employees who commence employment on or after 6 April 2012. Existing employees who commenced employment prior to this date will continue to be subject to the one year qualifying period.
- The cap on a week's pay for calculating statutory redundancy or the basic weekly award for unfair dismissal claims increased from £400 to £430 on 1 February 2012
- The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal increased from £68,400 to £72,300 on 1 February 2012
- The standard rate of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay will increase from £128.73 to £135.45 per week from April 2012
- Statutory Sick Pay will increase from £81.60 to £85.85 per week from April 2012
Pensions Update
The new pension legislation relating to auto-enrolment comes into force this year. The legislation will apply to all employers which will require them to automatically enrol all "workers" into a pension plan.
Who is a "worker" for the purposes of the new legislation?
- An individual who is aged between 22 and the state pension age;
- An individual who earns a minimum of £7,475 per year (this figure is subject to change); and
- An individual who works in the UK (or normally works in the UK)
This will also include temporary workers that are supplied to our clients.
The legislation comes into force in October 2012 and will be phased in from this date up until February 2018. The phasing process has been designed to allow smaller companies a longer time frame within which to make the necessary arrangements.
Employers will be required to make a minimum contribution to a pension plan for all individuals who are defined as "workers" as set out above. Employers will be entitled to opt-out of the pension plan if they wish to do so. Employers will need to ensure that the pension plan used meets the qualifying criteria set by the Pensions Regulator. Compliance with the new legislation will be monitored by the Pensions Regulator and failure to comply with the legislation is likely to result in a substantial penalty notice and may also constitute a criminal offence.
We are setting up a project group to work with businesses to ensure that we are ready for pension legislation once it comes into force.
Data Protection Update
January 2012 saw the European Commission publish a proposal for the current legislation relating to Data Protection to be replaced with a new "Data Protection Regulation". The proposal is an attempt to bring the current legislation in line with current requirements for data protection. The key proposals that have been put forward are set out below
- the Regulations will affect businesses within the EU and also other businesses who have headquarters in other countries that trade with Europe
- a single set of rules will apply across the 27 EU member states
- there will be a compulsory requirement for any data protection breaches to be reported to the national data protection authority
- specific obligations and penalties will be set out in the legislation in respect of companies that process data on behalf of other companies
- express consent for processing data will be required, implied consent will no longer be sufficient
- a "right to be forgotten" will be set up to allow individuals to have all of their data deleted where there are no legitimate grounds for it to be kept
- national data protection authorities will have increased powers which will include the right to enforce fines for non-compliance
- fines for non-compliance will be up to 2% of global turnover
We will be monitoring developments with this proposed new legislation and working with the business to ensure that our procedures and processes comply with the requirements of the Regulation.
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