Employment Law changes 1^st October 2016

Traditionally October is the month when employment legislation changes are announced. This October is no exception; however some implementation dates are still to be confirmed.

National Minimum Wage Increases – The changes apply on 1 October 2016.

Workers aged under 25 but at least 21 rises to £6.95 per hour.

Workers aged at least 18 but under 21 rises to £5.55 per hour;

Workers aged under 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age goes up to £4.00 per hour. Apprentice rate increases to £3.40 per hour.

The national living wage, the national minimum wage rate for workers aged 25 or above, is unaffected.

It is thought that future changes to the national minimum wage and the national living wage will take place at the same time in April each year, from April 2017.

Remember employers can face a large fine if they don’t pay national minimum wage.

Gender pay gap reporting

Employers with 250 employees or more will be required to publish details on gender pay and gender bonus gap every year.

It is the total headcount that should be counted, not the number of full-time equivalent posts. So each employee should be counted regardless of the number of hours they work. Apprentices must also be included in the head count.

Pay information will need to be based on payments made over the employer’s pay period every April, beginning in April 2017.  Any bonus information will need to cover the preceding 12-month period, beginning with the 12 months leading up to April 2017.

Changes to apprenticeships 

To protect the term ‘apprenticeship’ training providers won’t be unable to describe a course as an ‘apprenticeship’ if the course or training is not a statutory apprenticeship.

Tax- free childcare scheme

The scheme will apply to parents with children aged under 12.

If both parents work and each parent earns less than £100,000 per year, and a minimum weekly income at least equivalent to 16 hours at the rate of the national minimum wage, the Government will pay 20% of their yearly childcare costs (capped at £2,000 for each child).

The scheme is due to be introduced early in 2017 but a date has not yet been confirmed.

Employers’ Duties (Implementation) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 – Implementation 1^st October 2016.

The regulations amend the scheduled dates for the planned increases in the minimum level of contribution for pension’s auto-enrolment, to align the increases with the beginning of the tax year. The planned increase in October 2017, to 5% minimum contribution (2% employer), will now take effect in April 2018. The planned increase in October 2018, to 8% (3% employer), will take effect in April 2019.

Remember if you need help with the legal bits then give us a call 01980 622167 or email people@jmassociates.org

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