Employment Law Changes - April 1st and April 6th 2009
April has seen a number of important changes in employment law. LT Law Journal looks at the most significant.
Employment agencies
From 1st April employment agencies must charge full VAT on the full amount for temporary workers they supply. i.e. not just on their commission, but on their salary, NI and commission. This makes it somewhat less attractive to use employment agencies!
As an alternative, to take advantage of hiring people on a temporary basis for more than 3 months without complications, it’s possible to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) as a subsidary of your company. The SPV hires the staff to the company and the company pays the SPV the commission, i.e. just like an employment agency.
Minimum statutory holiday
From 1st April the minimum statutory holiday requirement increases to 28 days, but including public holidays. Agency workers are also entitled to this.
National minimum wage
From 6th April, increased penalties for failure to pay the national minimum wage come into force. The NMW is currently £5.73 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older, £4.77 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive, and £3.53 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age.
Right to request flexible hours
From 1st April the right to request flexible working is extended to parents of children up to the age of 16.
ACAS New workplace problem-solving process
Following the Dispute Resolution Review (DRR), the government is changing the way we deal with problems at work. From 6 April 2009 there will be:
* Less emphasis on the mechanics of how to manage disciplinary issues, grievances and dismissals
* More flexibility to resolve problems at an early stage and in a way that suits you best.
For more information see the ACAS website.
Tags: acas, employment agencies, employment agency, flexible hours, holiday, national minimum wage, problem solving process, statutory minimum holiday