Employees using e-cigarettes at work – is this covered under no smoking rules?

With the increasing use of e-cigarettes you should consider your position regarding their use or restriction in the workplace.

This has recently been discussed at the Employment Tribunal in the case of Insley v Accent Catering where a catering assistant was observed smoking an e-cigarette on school premises, in view of pupils. The school considered this to be a gross misconduct offence, and she was invited to a disciplinary hearing, charged with bringing the catering company into disrepute by smoking an e-cigarette, but the employee resigned before the hearing could take place.

A claim for constructive dismissal by the employee failed as it was held that there had been no breach of mutual trust and confidence because the employer had "reasonable and proper cause" for taking disciplinary action in this instance.

However, while the employer regarded e-smoking to be the equivalent of smoking, the employee had not been informed of the rule allegedly broken, because there was no rule in place banning the use of e-cigarettes. The only potentially relevant policy in place was the no-smoking policy. Had the employee attended the disciplinary hearing and been dismissed for gross misconduct it would then have been very interesting to see what the Tribunal would have decided! It is likely that the dismissal would have been unfair as the employee had not been advised of the rule.

E-cigarettes are not covered by the law on smoking and there is no legal requirement to ban them at work. If you wish to restrict, or even ban e-cigarettes, a clear policy on this is imperative, further this will need to be communicated to employees and visitors or third parties on your premises. 

To discuss changes to your smoking policy please contact us on 01245 261883

Employing young people will cost you less!

On 6th April 2015 an National Insurance break was introduced which specifically benefits employers who employ anyone under 21 years of age. 

 

Employers will not have to pay the 13.8% Class 1 National Insurance.

The Government have made it clear that this incentive is to encourage the employment of younger people and was announced back in 2013 by George Osborne.

This may be a good time to see if you can hire a younger worker.  It will also apply to any existing employees who are under 21 years of age.

Unfortunately, your younger employee does not get the same tax breaks and will be subject to employee's NI contributions where appropriate. 

Uf you require further help on this contact us on 01245 261883

Requesting Criminal Records - Now a Crime...

Some employers ask employees or job applicants to obtain a copy of their criminal records by making a subject access request under Data Protection Act, i.e. ask the police directly for a copy of their records.

On 10th March 2015 this sort of request became a criminal offence (with unlimited fines).  This is because such requests could lead to the disclosure of excessive personal information which can include details such as spent convictions which are not disclosed after 5 years.  This is prohibited under the Data Protection Act and is now a new offence.

The good news is that you can still make requests using the Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS - formally CRB's). You may only carry out this type of check where the job is eligible for one.  This includes working with children or vulnerable adults.

To discuss this in more detail please contact us on 01245 261883

Understand the new rules on Parental Leave

The new rights allowing UK parents to share leave after the birth or adoption of their child came into effect last week.If your child is born or placed for adoption after 5 April 2015, you will benefit from the new rules.

Parents can share 50 weeks of leave which 37 weeks is paid leave at the statutory rate of £139.58 per week as long as the parents meet the eligibility criteria.

Parents can share leave following the birth or adoption of their child.  They can take leave in their child’s first year at different times or double up by taking the leave at the same time.

Does this change regular maternity and paternity leave?

No.  Fathers are still entitled to take two weeks paid paternity leave. 

Mothers maternity still exist under maternity rules and the mother can take ordinary and additional maternity leave. 

Mothers must still take the initial two weeks after birth, but they can exchange their maternity leave for shared parental leave.

Both parents have the choice of how to split the rest of the leave entitlement between them and have up to 50 weeks leave.

For example, if a mother ends her maternity leave after 10 weeks following the child’s birth, that leaves 42 weeks of leave, as the mother has to take the first two weeks after the child has been born.  The mother chooses to take 30 weeks and her partner can choose to take the other 12 weeks.  Alternatively, both parents can choose to take the 21 weeks of leave together or split the 42 weeks and take the leave equally or at separate times. 

Can parents take leave when they want?

Shared parental leave does not have to be taken all in one go which is different to the current maternity and paternity leave rules.

A parent can book up to three blocks of leave in the course of the child’s first year.  They must give their employer at least 8 weeks’ notice before taking leave.

It is up to the employer to agree to shorter blocks of leave, of just a week or more, but that is up to the employer.

The mother can take her leave as shared parental leave which will allow her more flexibility rather than take it as maternity leave – even if the father does not take any parental leave.

A mother can inform her employer before her baby is born that she doesn’t plan to use all of her 52 weeks’ maternity leave and wants to convert some of it into shared parental leave.  The father could then use this leave to help out in the first few weeks after birth while she is still on maternity leave.

Why aren’t all parents eligible?

To take shared parental leave, one parent must have been an employee with at least 26 weeks of service with the same employer by the end of the 15^th week before the baby is due, or when matched with an adopted child.

The other parent must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks leading up to the due date and have earned at least £30 per week in 13 of the 66 weeks.

There are exemptions to this rule.  For example, self-employed and a parent not in work at the time of the birth can still qualify.

How much will parents be paid?

Shared parental leave is £139.58 a week or 90% of an employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. 

This is the same as maternity pay, except during the first 6 weeks statutory maternity pay amounts to 90% of the employee’s normally earns and there is no maximum.

Shared parental pay is only given for 37 weeks.  The remaining 13 weeks of leave if taken is unpaid.

National Minimum Wage

The Government has announced that the National Minimum Wage will rise by 3% for most employees from 1^st October 2015.  The Apprenticeship rate will rise by 21%, considerably more than recommended by the Low Pay Commission.