At the moment, if a woman on maternity leave is selected for redundancy, she has the right to be offered a suitable alternative role without having to go through the interview process. If the new Employment Bill is voted through, this protection will be extended for six months after the woman has returned from maternity leave.
It’s a step in the right direction in terms of combating discrimination against those who have taken time off to care for a newborn (or newborns!).
In line with the imminent increases to National Minimum Wages and National Living Wages, statutory payments will also be rising on 3rd April 2022.
The payment rates for Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Bereavement Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay will rise to £156.66 per week or 90% of the average week’s earnings.
The rate for Statutory Sick Pay will be rising slightly as of 6th April 2022, and national insurance contributions will increase by 1.25% on this same date, until at least 5th April 2023. HMRC asks that all payslips are updated to explain that this uplift in NICs will be used to fund NHS, health and social care.
Following on from the announcement of the government’s ‘Living
with Covid’ strategy, this is a gentle reminder that the Statutory Sick Pay
Rebate Scheme finished on 17th March 2022.
From this date, employers will no longer be able to claim back statutory sick pay (SSP) to cover staff absences relating to testing positive for Covid-19 or having to abide by self-isolation rules.
Business owners and their teams will have until 24th March to submit any new claims for absence periods up to 17th March or amend any claims that have already been submitted.
Regardless of the reason why the employee is off work, companies must revert to paying SSP from the fourth qualifying day of absence, as was the case pre-pandemic.
From 5 April 2022, the government will be boosting both the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the National Living Wage (NLW). The NLW rate will be increasing by 6.6%, from £8.91 to £9.50, while the NMW rates will soon be as follows (broken down by age):
From 5th April 2022, employers must revert to in person checks for Right to Work documentation. During Covid, it has been possible to carry out such checks remotely via video calls, then scan over the documents – but we’re expecting new guidance to be introduced shortly as the Home Office prepares its post-pandemic strategy.
Be honest – would you have considered introducing flexible working policies within your business if it wasn’t for Covid-19?
The pandemic has changed the way we live and work, with employees demanding much more flexible and adaptable working hours in order to juggle the many demands that these challenging times are placing on them.
But what if it’s not feasible for your staff to choose their own work hours, or log in from home most of the time?
The government has announced Plan B in a bid to curb infections of the new Omicron Covid variant. But what does this mean for employers?
The latest guidelines encourage employees to work from home wherever possible from this week. However, if employers still require their staff to come into the workplace, they will need to carry out a full risk assessment and decide if any changes need to be implemented onsite to help increase Covid safety. This could include asking staff to wear masks when moving around the building; providing hand sanitiser; providing wipes for common touch points; and encouraging them to take regular lateral flow tests to identify any cases early.
Feel free to contact us if you’d like to discuss how to implement changes within your organisation.