Archive for October, 2009

One of the key issues for an employee’s right to, for example, statutory maternity pay and leave is that the two sets of legislation ensure that, for each week of leave, the employee receives the appropriate statutory payment. The first day of leave should also be the first day of the payment period and that [...]

In yet another court decision, this time the Court of Appeal in the case Autoclenz Ltd v Belcher and Others, the efforts by some employers to turn employees into self-employed subcontractors by artificially “window-dressing” the contract. The judgement, given on 13 October 2009, restored the original employment tribunal decision that Mr. Belcher and other car [...]

In a detailed document published on 15 October, the Government spells out its programme of some 380 regulatory changes that have been or will be made between April 2009 and April 2001, and in a few cases beyond.  A further 115 regulatory change are listed that do not yet have an implementation date.  They are [...]

From 31 July 2009, the average maximum working week for doctors in training reduced from 56 hours to 48 hours. However, in order to enable certain parts of the National Health Service to deliver adequate health service and medical care, the Working Time Regulations 1998 were amended, with effect from 1 August 2009, so that an [...]

In the introduction to last week’s newsletter, we referred to a tax tribunal decision that was likely to affect the way in which employers determine the start date of a maternity pay period. We have now been able to examine the ruling in detail and its implications do indeed require careful consideration. One unfortunate problem with [...]

Pensions and other contributory benefits will go up by 2% from January if the States of Guernsey approve Social Security’s proposals at the September States meeting. Following States approval of Social Security’s proposals concerning the future financing of the contributory social security schemes, the upper earnings and income limits for employed people, self-employed people and [...]

This week we concentrate of two new consultation documents published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).  Both areas of change have been the subject of earlier consultations and the legislation in both cases is expected to be in place by April 2010.  However, the more significant of the two for payroll and [...]

On 15 October, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) published a new consultation document, supported by draft Regulations, which explains, in nearly final form, how the European Directive on Conditions for Temporary Workers will be brought into UK legislation.  The following notes update an article, based on the initial May 2009 consultation document, [...]

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published a new consultation document giving proposals for information sharing between the various bodies that are responsible in law for the enforcement of employment rights. Enforcement responsibilities are split between a number of different departments and agencies.  HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), for example, enforces the [...]

We have just two news items this week, both rather specialist – one relates to employment status for NICs purposes in the education sector, the other for sponsors of migrants under Tiers 2, 4 and 5. We mentioned HMRC’s new PAYE Desktop Viewer (PDV) a couple of weeks ago and had hoped to review it [...]

When a person starts in a new employment, the employer is required to determine whether the engagement constitutes a contract of service or a contract for services.  In other words, the employer must decide whether the person is to be treated as employed or self-employed, for both PAYE tax and NICs purposes. For NICs purposes, [...]

On 5 October, the UK Border Agency published revised guidance for employers and education providers who sponsor migrants under the points-based system for immigration, and has enabled education providers to use the sponsorship management system for the first time. The sponsor guidance has now been split into separate documents for employers (Tiers 2 and 5 [...]

Childcare vouchers, tips and the Supreme Court made the press headlines this past week and our newsletter this week gives the payroll perspective to the stories. It’s strange how a couple of lines in the PM’s speech at the Labour Conference could have one of the biggest impacts on payroll in the coming couple of [...]

At the Labour Conference, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced: “And for all those mums and dads who struggle to juggle work and home, I am proud to announce today that by reforming tax relief we will by the end of the next Parliament be able to give the parents of a quarter of a [...]

With effect from 1 October 2009, regulation 31 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 was amended so that any payments made by customers by way of a service charge, tip, gratuity or cover charge may not count towards the national minimum wage (NMW).  Each worker’s pay, excluding such customer payments, must meet the minimum [...]

On 30 July, the judicial function of the House of Lords and its role as the final, and highest, appeal court in the UK came to an end.  On 1 October, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom took over jurisdiction on points of law for all civil law cases in the UK and for [...]

Towards the end of 2009 and during 2010, the first national identity cards will be issued to the general public, first in Manchester and then across the North West.  Following a consultation exercise in 2008, the Government has made a number of Regulations related to the issuing of these cards. The Identity Cards Act 2006 [...]

Following quickly on the heels of the High Court decision on 25 September to allow age 65 to remain as the designated retirement age for age equality purposes – at least for now – the Cabinet Secretary announced on 30 September that a mandatory retirement age will be scrapped across all levels of the Civil [...]

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published the third of the three consultation documents that were promised on the rules and procedures that will apply to the provision by employers of Pension Personal Accounts.  Employers will be required, during a transitional period starting in 2012, to enrol employees in either an existing occupational [...]

Industrial relations legislation makes provision for trade union representatives, employers and employer representative bodies to bring a complaint before the Labour Court that an employer has breached a registered employment agreement. The Labour Court has updated its guidance on the procedures to be followed in order to make such complaints. Further information: Guidelines to procedures [...]