It’s that time of year again and April heralds some new changes to Employment law.
Claimants wishing to bring an employment claim will first have to lodge one with ACAS and engage in conciliation before they can proceed to a tribunal, the rationale being that an agreement can be reached between the parties and litigation can be avoided.
Employers will need to exercise greater caution regarding any potential breaches of employment law as the presence of any “aggravating features” exacerbating the breach will land employers with a financial penalty of 50% of the claimant’s award. This penalty will be between £100 and £5,000 but can be reduced if paid within 21 days. Additionally, the compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increases from £74,200 to £76,574 with the weekly pay consideration rising to £464.
The statutory rates have risen again as usual with maternity, ordinary and additional statutory paternity and adoption pay increasing from £136.78 to £138.18. Statutory sick pay has also risen to £86.70.
Employers now have six weeks instead of a month to enrol jobholders into a qualifying pension scheme and the ability for an employee to obtain information from their employer about discrimination has been abolished.