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employment tribunal

Employment tribunal cases increased by 39% last year

24/07/2018 Posted by Employment Tribunals, Uncategorized 0 thoughts on “Employment tribunal cases increased by 39% last year”

The employment tribunal system is struggling to cope.  In the latest annual report from Acas, figures showed that the number of employment tribunal cases had rocketed in the past 12 months.

  Since last year’s Supreme Court ruling abolished claimant fees, the number of tribunal cases has increased by a whopping 39% according to the latest statistics. No longer required to pay the £1,200 fee, the number of claimants has increased substantially.  This has resulted in the employment tribunal system handling 26,012 cases  in 2017/18 compared to 18,647 the previous year.

“The number of people deciding to pursue a tribunal claim has definitely increased since the Supreme Court decision to scrap fees” said Acas chairman Sir Brendan Barber.

  In a further indication of the impact the removal fees has had, according to Ministry of Justice figures, single employment tribunal claims increased by 118% between January to March 2018. By contrast, multiple claims actually fell by 40%. The number of cases outstanding for both single and multiple claims rose significantly.  As a result, the Judicial Appointments Commission sought to recruit 54 new employment tribunal judges, in an attempt to address the backlog. According to employment judge Brian Doyle who is president of the employment tribunal, the courts had not recruited new employment judges for more than five years. Refunds of fees already paid totalled £6.5M by the end of March (around 7,700 cases). Unfair Dismissal remained the most frequent ground for complaint received by the Employment Tribunal Service.  It accounted for 53% of all cases last year. Issues relating to the Wages Act and Breach of Contract were the 2ndand 3rdmost frequent causes of complaint (36% and 33% of cases respectively).

If you are worried about the prospect of employment tribunals in your business, read about how you can minimise the risk of these occurring in our 9 point guide here . Alternatively, contact us for a chat about how we can help.

                 
Health & Safety Consultancy | Absorb employment law consultants

6 employment law changes this April

06/04/2018 Posted by Uncategorized 0 thoughts on “6 employment law changes this April”

EACH APRIL, THE GOVERNMENT RELEASES A RAFT OF UPDATES TO VARIOUS EMPLOYMENT LAWS.

THIS YEAR THERE ARE 6 IMPORTANT CHANGES THAT MAY AFFECT YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS:

  1. Minimum wage rates increased on 1st April.
National Living Wage:
  • Workers aged 25 and over (now up to a minimum of £7.83 PH)
National Minimum Wage:
  • Workers aged 21 – 24 (now up to a minimum of £7.38 PH)
  • Workers aged 18 – 20 (now up to a minimum of £5.90 PH)
  • Workers over compulsory school age but under 18 (now up to a minimum of £4.20 PH)
  • Apprentices (now up to a minimum of £3.70 PH)
  1. Pension Contributions
From today, you must contribute at least 2% to your employees’ pension scheme (up from the previous 1%). Employees themselves must contribute a minimum of 3% (up from the previous 1%).
  1. Tribunal awards for unfair dismissal
From today, the maximum award for unfair dismissal will increase to £98,922.
  1. Gender pay gap reporting
If you employ more than 250 people, you must now publish data on the difference between the amount you pay male and female employees. You must then submit your figures to the Government Equalities Office by 4th April 2018. Failure to do so may result in a conviction and an unlimited fine.
  1. Changes to the taxation of termination payments
From today, HMRC will treat all payment in lieu of notice that you make to your employees as earnings (and therefore subject to tax and NI deductions)
  1. Data Protection (GDPR)
GDPR is a new law that came into force on 25th May across the whole of the EU including the UK (regardless of Brexit). This law introduced significant changes in how you are permitted to process and store data on both your employees and customers which has made companies more liable in cases of data security breaches. If you need any further information or clarification on any of the above, please contact us on 0161 817 8034.