UK Employment Law 2015 2016 - One-day Essential Training Course

Keeping up-to-date with the very latest in Employment Law, Rights and Responsibilities is never easy. Concrew Training's one-day course on Employment Law, Rights and Responsibilities provides essential CPD for managers and HR specialists alike. 

The changes to Employment Legislation and Employment Rights & Responsibilities continue to be both extensive and significant.   In May, the Government set out a wide range of new laws which will affect employment rights and responsibilities. Some of the main highlights include:-

Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill

This proposal aims to reduce the household benefit cap; impose a two-year freeze on most working age benefits, including unemployment benefit & remove automatic entitlement to housing support for 18-21 year olds. The Universal Credit reforms brought in by the Coalition Government will move forward apace and there will be a much tighter regime around Immigration and Social Security Law.

Enterprise Bill

A new law will cap redundancy pay to public sector workers and establish a small business conciliation service to handle business-to-business disputes without involving the courts. There will also be reform of the present system by which businesses appeal against business rates. Tribunal powers are being curtailed

European Referendum Bill

This was the flagship in the Conservative Party manifesto. Speculation as to the potential impact upon employment and equality law of a UK withdrawal from Europe is growing. However, even were withdrawal to arise, which in itself is highly speculative, it is inconceivable that it would give rise to significant changes to current employment law in the short to medium term. Experts actually anticipate a gradual divergence of laws between UK and Europe through case law and future legislation. However, the fundamental protection mechanisms for both employer and employee will no doubt remain.

Extremism Bill

This has had a fairly low profile in the press coverage but we know it will have massive implications for those of our clients already working hard to comply with the Disclosure and Barring Service.  The Extremism Bill includes the introduction of employment checks, which will enable employers to check whether an individual is an ‘extremist’ so that they can be barred from working with children. This check will need to be added to an employer’s ‘right to work’ checks if the Bill is passed. 

Immigration Bill

 A new Immigration Bill will create a new enforcement agency to tackle serious cases of exploitation as well as creating a new offence of illegal working and enabling wages to be seized as proceeds of crime. There will be consultation on the introduction of a new visa levy on businesses that recruit overseas labour to fund extra apprenticeships for British and EU workers. There will also be a new offence preventing business and recruitment agencies from recruiting abroad without advertising in the UK.

Trades Union Bill

 This proposal is currently attracting daily media attention. Key proposals include a 50% voting threshold for union strike ballot turnouts, and a requirement that 40% of those entitled to vote must back action in essential public services (health, education, fire and transport). Time limits will also be introduced on a mandate following a ballot for industrial action. The government say they will “tackle intimidation of non-striking workers” Ministers say that the aim is to ensure that strikes are the result of ‘clear positive and recent decisions’ by union members as well as ensuring that disruption to essential public services has a democratic mandate. The government also plans to introduce what it calls a ‘transparent opt-in” process for the political fund element of trade union subscriptions’ similar to Northern Ireland.

Personal tax allowance and Tax Credits

Legislation is proposed to ensure that people working 30 hours a week on the minimum wage pay no income tax. However in his emergency budget two months ago the Chancellor signalled that big cuts will be made to Working Tax and Child Tax Credits from April. 

National Living Wage - NLW

 As opposed to the National Minimum Wage, the rates for which just went up, the NLW is linked to actual cost of living indicators and the retail price index. The government plan to legislate so that the NLW will become law by 2020. Already some big employers have indicated they will start paying the NLW from next April

Couple the above with the recent changes to the following:

• Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures –including the new ACAS Code of Practice 2015
• Holiday Pay
• Flexibility Clause eg “ other duties as required”
• Employee’s use of social media at work
• Data Protection including the new European Directive 2015 to 2017
• Travel Time at Work
• Unfair Dismissal
• Changing Terms and Conditions of Employment

and it becomes pretty clear that all managers and HR staff need annual refresher training on Employment Rights and Responsibilities