April 2020 Changes
April 2020 sees a number of changes to employment law, in addition to those relating to COVID-19 (which are not referred to in this blog).
Many of these changes follow the Government’s “Good Work Plan”, which has the aim of bringing about a fairer way of work, creating clarity for employers and workers and achieving fairer enforcement.
National living/minimum wage changes
From 1 April 2020, the national living/minimum hourly wage will increase as follows:
- Apprentice £4.15
- Aged 16-17 £4.55
- Aged 18-20 £6.45
- Aged 21+ £8.20
- Aged 25+ £8.72
Statement of written terms
From 6 April 2020, employees will now be entitled to a statement of written terms of employment by day one of their employment. This means that the existing two month grace period will cease to apply.
Holiday pay
The long awaited changes to the way holiday pay is calculated for any holidays taken on or after 6 April 2020 will be in place. Previous calculations used to work out holiday pay were calculated using a 12 week reference period. This reference period will be increased to 52 weeks. In cases where an employee has been employed for less than this, the reference period will directly reflect the number of weeks they have been employed.
Agency workers rules
From 6 April 2020, after satisfying an initial 12-week qualifying period, agency workers will be entitled to equal pay comparable to that of workers who are employed directly by the employer. Consequently, the legislation sees the abolition of “Swedish derogation” models. Also, employment businesses should provide agency work-seekers with a key information document, before agreeing the terms by which the work-seeker will undertake work. The document must include information such as the type of contract under which the work-seeker will be engaged, the minimum rate of pay, any deductions that will be made to their pay, how they will be paid and by whom, and annual leave entitlement.
Parental bereavement
From April 2020, if a parent suffers the loss of a child under the age of 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, they will be entitled to a period of two weeks of leave following the loss. Those parents with a minimum of 26 weeks’ continuous service may also be entitled to statutory parental bereavement pay.
Sick pay
From 6 April 2020, the weekly rate for statutory sick pay will increase to £95.85.
Family friendly payments
From 6 April 2020, statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave pay will increase to £151.20 per week.
Compensation payments
From 6 April 2020, the statutory cap on the compensatory award for successful unfair dismissal claims will be £88,519. The cap on a week’s pay, used to calculate statutory redundancy payments and the basic award, will increase to £538.
Guarantee payments
Relevant to those employers who have temporarily laid off their members of staff, from 6 April 2020, the guarantee payment will increase to £30 a day (subject to a maximum of five days or £150 in any three months).
If you, as an employee or employer, have any concerns or questions about the impact of these changes please get in touch with us here at People Legal. Please call us on 0800 368 8470, email us at [email protected] or arrange a chat at www.people.legal/contact/.
