BUSINESS Employment News
MacPhee & Partners Helen MacLean
Managing Partner, Oban An update from the ever-evolving world of employment law!
Does Zero Hours Mean Zero Rights? While the practice of employing staff on so-called ‘zero hours’ contracts is not new, the popularity of these type of contracts being offered by employers has increased greatly in recent years. Zero hours contracts are favoured by the retail and hospitality sectors where demands for staff often vary seasonally. They have come under media scrutiny in recent months, with several high-profile employers such as Sports Direct, McDonalds and JD Wetherspoons being criticised for their use of this practice. However, the good news for employees is that zero hours does not mean zero rights. It’s not possible to contract out of the statutory right for paid annual leave (presently 28 days per year for full-time workers) and employees may also build up the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims where they have worked consistently and on a regular basis. The Government has recognised that these contracts, while offering useful flexibility, are susceptible to abuse by employers and a consultation is underway to highlight areas where action needs to be taken to avoid misuse.
Workplace Pension Scheme For the first time employers are required by law to automatically enrol all eligible workers into a workplace pension and make a contribution to it. Dates are now fast approaching for employers to start automatically enrolling their workers:- • Medium employers (50 – 249 workers) have from April 2014 to April 2015; and •
Small employers (49 workers or less) have from June 2015 to April 2017.
Employers should begin working on an automatic enrolment plan at least 6 moths prior to their staging date to avoid the risk of non-compliance.
As a starting point, employers should:- • • • • •
identify an individual to set a plan for implementation; identify an appropriate scheme;
ensure personnel records are up-to-date;
assess workforce to identify who should be enrolled; and ensure payroll systems will support auto-enrolment.
National Minimum Wage Employers not paying workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW) – presently £6.31 per hour for workers over 21 – face increased penalties. Current penalties are set at 50% of the total underpayment of the NMW (with a maximum penalty of £5,000) but this is set to rise to 100% of the total underpayment of the NMW (with a maximum penalty of £20,000).
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