| HR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Jackie Le Poidevin, Editor-in-Chief, HR Adviser |
Discover the Labour Party’s Proposed Employment Law Reforms
In its recent manifesto, the Labour Party committed to implement its New Deal for Working People in full if it forms the next Government and to introduce legislation within 100 days. It’s likely some proposals will be difficult to implement in practice and they may get watered down following public consultation. Here, though, is a summary of what Labour is currently pledging to do if it comes to power.
Dismissals and Enforcement
- Unfair dismissal: the 2-year qualifying period for bringing an unfair dismissal claim will be abolished. Employers will still be able to dismiss an employee for failing their probation but they will have to follow a ‘fair and transparent’
- Fire and rehire: the new Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement will be replaced with tougher rules.
- Redundancies and TUPE: collective consultation thresholds will apply based on the number of redundancies across the whole business, not per workplace. TUPE protections will also be strengthened.
- Time limits: the 3-month time limit for bringing most employment claims will be doubled to 6 months.
- Enforcement: a single enforcement body for workers’ rights (initially proposed by the Conservatives) will be created.
Employment Status
- Employee rights: the divide between ‘employee’ and ‘worker’ rights will be removed. People currently classed as casual workers will therefore gain the full suite of employment rights, including the new Day 1 right to claim unfair dismissal.
- The self-employed: gig economy and other self-employed workers will gain new protections, including the right to a written contract and trade union rights.
‘One-sided’ Flexibility
- Zero-hours: ‘exploitative’ (which seems to imply not all) zero-hours contracts will be banned. Workers will also be entitled to have a contract that reflects the hours they regularly work, based on a 12-week average.
- Shift work: workers will gain a right to have reasonable notice of their work schedule and to be paid for shifts cancelled at short notice.
Pay
- Living wage: the minimum wage will be a ‘real living wage that people can live on’. The Low Pay Commission will have to take the cost of living into account when setting the minimum wage and the ‘discriminatory age bands’ will be removed so ‘every adult worker’ receives the living wage.
- Pay gap reporting: employers with 250+ employees will have to report on their ethnicity and disability pay gaps. They will also have to publish their gender pay gap action plans and include outsourced workers in those reports.
- Equal pay: ethnic minority and disabled workers will gain the right to make equal pay claims.
- Interns: unpaid internships will be banned except as part of an education or training course.
Discrimination, Harassment and Whistleblowing
- Sexual harassment: employers will have to take ‘all reasonable steps’ (not just ‘reasonable steps’) to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, including by customers and other third parties. This would reverse the watering down of the Worker Protection Act 2023, due to come into force in October.
- Discrimination: workers will be able to claim ‘dual discrimination’ (e.g. less favourable treatment for being a Muslim woman).
- Whistleblowing: protections for whistleblowers will be strengthened and employees who report sexual harassment will be treated as whistleblowers.
Family-friendly Policies and Flexible Working
- Flexible working: the right to work flexibly will be the ‘default’ from Day 1 in the job, except when this is ‘not reasonably feasible’. Workers will also have the opportunity to have flexi-time contracts that ‘better accommodate school terms’.
- Right to switch off: there will be a new right to disconnect based on the Irish and Belgian models. Workers and employers will have ‘the opportunity to have constructive conversations and work together on bespoke workplace policies or contractual terms that benefit both parties’.
- Family leave: it will become unlawful to dismiss a woman for 6 months after her return from maternity leave, except in specific situations. ‘Parental leave’ will become a Day 1 right (which may mean all kinds of leave rights for parents, including paternity leave). Carer’s leave will be reviewed and may become paid. Bereavement leave will be introduced for all workers.
Sickness and Wellbeing
- Statutory sick pay: SSP will become payable from the first day of absence and workers will be eligible regardless of earnings.
- Menopause: employers with 250+ employees will have to publish menopause action plans.
- Terminal illness: employers and unions will be encouraged as a matter of good practice to sign the Dying at Work charter.
Artificial Intelligence
- Electronic surveillance: employers will have to consult worker representatives before introducing surveillance technologies.
Industrial Relations
- Trade unions: there are a lot of proposals here but, broadly speaking, trade union legislation will be overhauled and ‘unnecessary restrictions’ on trade union activity removed.
- ‘Reasonable access’: trade union officials will be able to access workplaces ‘to meet, represent, recruit and organise members, provided they give appropriate notice and comply with reasonable requests of the employer’.
- Notification: employers will have to inform workers of their right to join a union in their written contract.
- Grievances: workers will be able to raise collective grievances with Acas about conduct in their workplace.
| HEALTH & SAFETY
Emma Lampka, Editorial Board Member, Health & Safety Adviser and Risk Assessment & Compliance |
Car Wash Fined for Electrical Safety Failings: 6 Ways to Reduce Your Risk
A Devon car wash was recently fined £40,000 for failing to address electrical safety, putting workers and the public at risk. Discover 6 essential ways to mitigate these hazards, ensuring a safer workplace and avoiding hefty fines. Implementing these steps can protect lives and prevent accidents, promoting a safer, compliant and more efficient work environment.
What Happened in the Case
A car wash firm in Devon has been fined £40,000 after it repeatedly failed to protect workers and members of the public from electrical safety risks. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigators carried out multiple visits to Best Car Wash Ltd. in Tavistock between July 2021 and November 2022. They found that employees were carrying out car washing outdoors using electrical appliances such as pressure washers and vacuum cleaners.
However, the company had failed to ensure the installation had been constructed or maintained to prevent danger to both the employees and members of the public. As a result of the electrical hazards identified, the company was issued with five enforcement notices.
Be Aware of the Risks of Working with Electricity
The main hazards associated with electricity at work are:
- Contact with live parts, causing shock and burn: even normal mains voltage (230 volts AC) can kill.
- Faults which could cause fire.
- Fire or explosion where electricity could be the source of ignition in a potentially flammable or explosive atmosphere.
6 Ways to Reduce the Risk Associated with Electricity at Work
- Assess the risk of harm from electricity. The risk of injury from electricity is strongly linked to where and how it is used. The risks are highest in harsh physical conditions, for example, in wet surroundings, outdoors or in cramped spaces with a lot of earthed metalwork such as inside a tank.
- Reduce the risk by ensuring that people working on or with your electrical equipment or systems are competent for the task. This means they will have suitable training, skills and knowledge for the task.
- Ensure the electrical installation is safe and that new electrical systems are installed to a suitable standard e.g. BS7671. You should ensure that these and existing installations are maintained to a safe condition. Also ensure that enough socket outlets are provided to prevent overloading or ‘daisy chaining’ extension leads.
- Provide safe and suitable equipment by choosing equipment that’s suitable for its working environment. Make sure the equipment is safe when supplied and that it is maintained in a safe condition. For machinery, provide an accessible and clearly identified switch near any fixed machine to cut power in an emergency. For portable equipment, use sockets which are close by, so that equipment can be easily disconnected in an emergency. Replace damaged sections of cable completely.
- Provide safety devices. One of the best ways of reducing the risk is to limit the supply voltage. You can do this by using a transformer. Many portable tools are designed to run from a 110 volt centre tapped to earth supply and can be run through the transformer. Also use Residual Current Devices (RCDs) to provide additional safety measures.
- Train your employees to do a visual inspection. For example, the ends of flexible cables should always have the outer sheath of the cable firmly clamped to stop the wires (particularly the earth) from pulling out of the terminal; this is something that can easily be observed.
| PAYROLL
Sarah Bradford, Editor-in-Chief, Pay & Benefits Adviser |
File Your P11Ds and P11D(b) by 6 July
If you provided your employees with taxable expenses and benefits in the 2023/24 tax year, you will need to file your P11D(b) with HMRC by 6 July 2024. For any taxable benefits and expenses that you did not payroll or include within a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA), you will also need to report these to HMRC by 6 July on the employee’s P11D. You will need to give your employees a copy of their P11D or details of their taxable benefits by the same date.
Electronic Filing Only
HMRC now only accept P11Ds and P11D(b)s filed electronically – filing paper returns is no longer an option.
If you have 500 or fewer P11Ds to file, you can do this either by using HMRC’s PAYE Online Service or by using commercial software. If you have more than 500 P11Ds to file, you will need to use a commercial software package to do this.
Your agent can also file return on your behalf.
Information Required
The information that you will need to provide depends on the nature of the benefit. For some benefits, all you need to supply is the cost to you of providing the benefit, any amount made good and the taxable amount. For other benefits, such as company cars and employment-related loans, you will need to supply more detailed information. Amounts made good are only effective in reducing the amount charged to tax where the employee makes good by 6 July after the end of the tax year.
The taxable amount (before deducting any amount made good by the employee) will normally be the cash equivalent value. This is calculated by reference to the specific rules for the benefit in question. Where there is no specific rule, the general rule applies and the employee is taxed on the cost to the employer of providing the benefit (less any amount made good).
If the benefit is provided through a salary sacrifice scheme or other optional remuneration arrangement (OpRA), unless the benefit is exempt from the alternative valuation rules, the employee is, instead, taxed by reference to the salary given up in exchange for the benefit.
Exempt Benefits
These do not need to be reported to HMRC. However, the exemption will only apply if the associated conditions are met. Most exemptions are lost where the benefit is provided via a salary sacrifice arrangement or other OpRA.
Payrolled Benefits
These do not need to be returned on the P11D but must be included in the Class 1A National Insurance calculation on the P11D(b).
Benefits Included in a PSA
A PSA can be used to meet the tax liability on certain benefits on your employees’ behalf. Items included in a PSA do not need to be notified to HMRC on the employee’s P11D.
If you want to use a PSA for 2032/24, you will need to agree it with HMRC by 5 July 2024. If you already have one in force, check that it remains valid for 2023/24 and, if not, amend it or cancel it by 5 July 2024.
Nil Declaration
If you did not provide any taxable benefits in 2023/24 but HMRC have asked you to file a P11D9B), you will need to make a nil declaration online to avoid a penalty.
Paying Class 1A NIC
You will need to pay your Class 1A National Insurance liability for 2023/24 by 22 July 2024 if you pay it electronically. If you pay by cheque, it will need to reach HMRC by the earlier date of 19 July. Interest is charged if you make the payment late.