employment law
Part-timers are entitled to receive a comparable amount of holiday entitlement. The easiestway towork this out is to multiply the number of hoursworked each week by four. For example, if theywork 10 hours aweek then they are entitled to 40 hours annual holiday.
The Equality Act 2010
In 2010, the EqualityAct replaced existing anti-discrimination such as theDisability DiscriminationAct 1995 and the Sex DiscriminationAct 1975.
Employers’obligations remain largely the same, however theAct does strengthen some particular aspects of equality lawand as a result, it is recommended that employers reconsider some of their policies and practices.
The characteristics protected under equality lawremain the same:
•Age •Disability
•Gender reassignment,which covers transsexual people
•Marriage and civil partnership • Pregnancy andmaternity
•Race,which includes ethnic or national origins, colour and nationality
•Religion or belief • Sex • Sexual orientation
For full details of the EqualityAct 2010 visit theGovernment’s EqualityOfficewebsite (
www.equalities.gov.uk).
Parental benefits
An employeemust take aminimumof two weeks leave after the birth of her child.
To qualify formaternity leave youmust be an ‘employee’.As an ‘employee’you have the right to 26weeks of ‘Ordinary Maternity Leave’and 26weeks ‘AdditionalMaternity Leave’ -making one year in total. Provided employees meet certain notification requirements, they can take this nomatter howlong they’ve beenwith their employer, how many hours theywork or howmuch they’re paid.
Once an employee knows they are pregnant, they should tell their employer at least 15
weeks before the beginning of theweek the baby’s due, and advise onwhen the baby is due andwhen theywish formaternity leave to start (they can change thiswith 28 days notice). Employers can ask for notice in writing, and a copy of FormMATB1, provided by a doctor ormidwife.Once an employer has been advised of the date that thematernity leavewill commence, they shouldwrite to the employeewithin 28 days, to confirmthe date that thematernity leavewill end.
Statutorymaternity pay
To qualify for StatutoryMaternity Pay (SMP) employeesmust pay tax and National Insurance and have been employed by you continuously for at least 26weeks up to and into the 15thweek before the baby is
due.The lawallows SMP to be paid for up to 39weeks of maternity
leave.The employerwill pay 90%of an employee’s averageweekly earnings for the first sixweeks, then up to £128.73 for the remaining 33weeks.Tax andNational Insurance is paid in the same way as on regularwages.
Employers can claimback a percentage of SMP paid.
Paternity Pay andLeave
If amale employee becomes a father he has a right to paternity leave and pay, and can take up to twoweeks paid leave, depending on howlong he has been in your employment, either in a single block or as odd
days.Aswith statutorymaternity pay, fathers are eligible to claimthe standard weekly rate of £128.73 or 90%of their averageweekly earnings,whichever is the lower.
Adoption
If you have amember of staffwho adopts a child they are also eligible for adoption leave and pay at the same rate as statutory maternity and paternity pay.
ParentalLeave
Parents - bothmothers and fathers - are entitled to 13weeks unpaid parental leave to care for their
child.This can usually be taken up to five years fromthe child’s date of birth.
When a child has been adopted unpaid parental leave can be taken up to five years
after the date of adoption or the child’s 18th birthday if that is sooner. Parents of disabled children are entitled to 18weeks unpaid parental leave up to the child’s 18th birthday.
Employee training
Young people aged 16 or 17who have few or no qualificationsmust be allowed time off to study or train for approved qualificationswhichwill help themachieve a reasonable standard, for exampleNVQ Level
2.There are also certain employees aged 18whowill have the right to complete study or training they have already started which can be in theworkplace, at college, or with another employer or training provider. Employersmust allowa ‘reasonable’ amount of time off for training of these employees, although the number of hours a week is not specified.When considering this you should think about the size and resources of your business andwhat the effectwill be of the employee’s absence.
If you offer your staff training you should make it clear in their contract of employment that theywill be liable for the costs should they voluntarily leave your employmentwithin a specified time period. It is common practice to attach a time limit to the training costs theymust pay back. For example, if they leavewithin threemonths youmaywish themto pay back 90%of the training costs.However, this is only a guide.
Termination of employment
When employment is to be terminated both the employer and employee are entitled to a minimumperiod of notice,which is applicable to either party that chooses to terminate the contract of employment. Statutoryminimumnotice periods are as follows:
Length of Service StatutoryMin Notice Under onemonth No notice required Onemonth to
One week 23months
Two to 12 years Two weeks plus one week for each year of employment
Over 12 years 12 weeks
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