Welcome to our March 2024 edition, read on to find out more about upcoming changes in relation to Employment Law.
Rises to wage and statutory rates 2024/2025
From 1 April 2024:
National Living Wage:
- £11.44 per hour for those aged 21 and over. This is increasing from £10.42 and £10.18 for those aged 23 and over and those aged 21-22, respectively, as workers aged 21 and over will be entitled to the National Living Wage from 1 April 2024.
National Minimum Wage rates:
- £8.60 per hour (from £7.49) for those aged 18 – 20.
- £6.40 per hour (from £5.28) for those aged 16 - 17 and apprentices.
Statutory benefit payments will increase as follows from 8 April 2024:
- Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and parental bereavement pay will increase to £184.03 (from £172.48) per week (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower). The lower earnings limit to qualify for these payments remains at £123.
- Maternity allowance (which those not qualifying for Maternity Pay may be able to rely on) also increases to maximum of £184.03 (from £172.48) per week (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower).
- Standard statutory sick pay (“SSP”) rises to £116.75 (from £109.40). The lower earnings limit to qualify for SSP remains at £123.
Spring Budget: key points for employers
Unsurprisingly, with an election looming, the Chancellor focused on tax cuts for those in work. In particular, and of interest to employers, he announced:
- A further 2p off employee (and self-employed) NICs from 6 April 2024.
- Increased childcare support, to be rolled out in stages, with access of up to 30 hours of free childcare per week to eligible working parents.
- The increase of the child benefit threshold to £60,000 (from £50,000), and a halving of the High-Income Benefit Charge for individuals with income between £60,000 and £80,000 with a pledge to apply this on a household, rather than individual, basis by 2026.
Tribunal Awards
Tribunal award increases for cases involving unfair dismissal will apply where the ‘effective date of termination’ falls on or after 6 April 2024. The revised compensation limits are as follows:
- Limit on a week’s pay for the purposes of Statutory Redundancy Pay and basic Tribunal award calculations increases to £700 (from £643).
- The maximum compensatory award for certain unfair dismissal claims increases to £115,115 (from £105,707) (the maximum award is still the lower of this figure and 52 weeks’ pay for the claimant).
- The minimum basic award for certain unfair dismissal claims increases to £8,533 (from £7,836).
Fire and re-hire: latest
The government has published its response to its consultation on the updated Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement, designed to regulate the ‘firing and re-hiring’ of staff. The Code covers the accepted standard about how employers should behave when consulting with employees over proposed changes to their employment contracts and aims to ensure employers reasonably explore alternatives to dismissal and re-engagement. It will not apply if only redundancies are being considered. It is due to come into force this summer and, although employers are not obliged to follow it, a failure to reasonably comply could result in a 25% uplift to a tribunal award.
Menopause guidance
The EHRC has published guidance for employers on how to support workers going through the menopause. It summarises employers’ obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and health & safety legislation, outlines the symptoms of menopause and how they affect workers, and suggests appropriate workplace adjustments. Given that the menopause is being cited in an increasing number of employment tribunals dealing with discrimination and disability claims, we recommend that employers have a menopause policy in place and deliver staff training to help raise awareness in the workplace. You can read more on this subject on our website.
A reminder…
Don’t forget that the following key legislation is due to come into effect from 6 April 2024:
- Flexible working: day-one right.
- Protection extended for pregnant employees against redundancy and for those returning from maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave.
- Unpaid carer’s leave.
- Changes to paternity leave.
You can find more information on the above here.
In addition, we have created some Frequently Asked Question and Answer documents on some of the key changes which we are receiving several queries on currently. These include:
- The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023;
- The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023; and
- The Carer’s Leave Act 2023.
These FAQ and Answer documents are available for £350 + VAT each! Should you wish to discuss these further, or would benefit from an FAQ and Answer document on another topic, please do get in touch with a member of the team and we would be happy to work with you to provide this.
If you are a YEAR client then you should have already received updated Polices and Q&A’s. If you have not received these, please get in touch.
Case update
Did gap between ‘last straw’ incident and resignation affirm the contract?
Leaney v Loughborough University
Dr Leaney, a university lecturer with over 40 years’ service, brought a claim for unfair constructive dismissal in 2020 after he allegedly felt forced to resign as a result of a fundamental breach of trust and confidence by the university over a culmination of events stemming from the university’s handling of a student’s complaint against him two years before. In addition to his academic duties, Dr Leaney was also a warden of one of the halls of residence and it was in this capacity that the complaint had been raised.
Dr Leaney was subjected to a disciplinary investigation, during which he consistently maintained that he had done nothing wrong. He raised a grievance over the handling of the investigation and then appealed the outcome which was supposed to be resolved at an appeal panel hearing that was never convened. After a series of unsatisfactory negotiations, Dr Leaney noted that the final straw came on 29 June 2020 when, in a meeting with his faculty Dean, the latter noted that resolving the student complaint against him was not within his remit as this was a matter for the university, not the faculty. Dr Leaney then consulted lawyers and further negotiations were subsequently held with the university in an attempt to resolve the matter. Before the start of the new academic year, Dr Leaney resigned on 28 September 2020, having concluded that the university would not support him.
The Employment Tribunal (ET) ruled that, as Dr Leaney had not resigned until three months after the ‘last straw’ event, he had affirmed any implied breach by the university. This was because there was no evidence that the university had misled him to cause him to postpone his resignation; the ongoing negotiations after the June 2020 meeting did not ‘alleviate Dr Leaney...from the obligation to make up his mind’ and he would have been aware of the choices before him. It was held that his perceived duty to his students was not sufficient pretext to delay his resignation until September 2020. Dr Leaney appealed the Tribunal’s decision.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that the original tribunal had misdirected itself. Rather than considering the length of the delay, it should have focused on what conduct had taken place during the three-month period that ‘might, or might not, have amounted to an express or implied communication of affirmation’. Dr Leaney’s length of service should have been considered – after 40 years, he was entitled to take his time in deciding to resign; he was not involved in significant work during the summer months; his negotiations with the university during this period were a genuine attempt to resolve matters; and he had been signed off with stress three weeks before his resignation. The case has been remitted back to the ET to reconsider.
Although there are aspects of this case that are specific to it (such as the length of service point), it serves as a useful reminder that a substantial delay between a ‘last straw’ event and a resignation does not necessarily amount to an affirmation of a contract and remove any grounds for a claim.
The information provided in this article is provided for general information purposes only, and does not provide definitive advice. It does not amount to legal or other professional advice and so you should not rely on any information contained here as if it were such advice.
Wright Hassall does not accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on any information published here. Definitive advice can only be given with full knowledge of all relevant facts. If you need such advice please contact a member of our professional staff.
The information published across our Knowledge Base is correct at the time of going to press.
