Coming up in 2018

Wage rates rise

From 1 April 2018, the National Minimum Wage will increase. The rates will be:

  • £7.83 per hour (from £7.50) aged 25 and over
  • £7.38 per hour (from £7.05) aged 21 – 24
  • £5.90 per hour (from £5.60) aged 18 – 20
  • £4.20 per hour (from £4.05) aged 16 -17
  • The apprentice rate increases from £3.50 to £3.70 per hour.

From 2 April 2018, the rate of statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay and statutory shared parental pay increases from £140.98 per week to £145.18 or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Gender pay gap reporting

Only 7% of employers required to publish gender pay details have done so. All companies employing more than 250 people must publish their mean and median gender and bonus pay gap, the proportion of men and women who receive bonuses, and the proportion of men and women in each pay band quartile by 4 April 2018. Please contact us if you need guidance on compiling the required information.

YEAR: your employment annual retainer

Our employment team can help you reduce the time you spend dealing with HR matters and make sure that you comply with an increasingly complex area of law by inviting you to join our YEAR club. Membership offers the following benefits:

  • An initial audit of your HR documentation
  • Update of Staff Handbook and employment contracts
  • Employment advice by phone and email
  • Bespoke letters
  • Discounted rates for face to face advice, training, and co-chairing meetings.
  • Optional legal expenses insurance

For more information please contact Tina Chander or read more information on YEAR here:

Case update

Morrisons' liable for data leak

A claim by employees of Morrisons' supermarket, following a major data breach committed by a former employee (since jailed), has been upheld by the High Court. The ruling opens the way for its employees to seek compensation. Although the judge ruled that the supermarket was not directly responsible for the data breach, it was responsible for the actions of a member of staff. This is the first class action to be brought in the UK following a data leak. Morrisons has been given leave to appeal.

Outsourced workers seek parity with permanent staff

An attempt by a group of employees (represented by IWGB), employed by facilities company Cordant to provide services to London University, to have the university recognised as a 'joint employer' has failed. The case went before the Central Arbitration Committee which rejected the claim on the basis that not to do so would effectively give two unions the right to negotiate with two employers over the rights of the same group of workers, potentially leading to 'chaotic workplace relationships'.

A final thought:

"Like actors and writers who are on and off again in terms of employment, I had a very unstructured life". (Buzz Aldrin, US astronaut, 1930 - )

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