Summary:  Does a gap of more than three months break a ‘series of deductions’ in an unlawful deduction from wages claim? No, held the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland (‘NICA’) in Chief Constable of Northern Ireland Police v Agnew available here. Background:  Under Article 7 of the Working Time Directive (WTD), EU Member States…
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1. Tackling Gender Inequality The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has published Gender equality at every stage: a roadmap for change (available here), which sets out the Government’s proposals to tackle key drivers of gender inequality. The key proposals to tackle gender inequality include: 1.1 Strengthening equality legislation A consultation on the effectiveness of workplace sexual…
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The Government Equalities Office has published guidance (available here) for employers on actions they can take to promote women’s progression in the workplace and close the gender pay gap. The guidance focuses on: creating an inclusive culture; supporting women’s career development; progression for part-time workers; improving recruitment and promotion processes; and measuring and evaluating policies…
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What do we already know? We updated you in our July 2018 Newsletter Case update (1): Holiday pay and voluntary overtime on the EAT’s decision in Flowers v East of England Ambulance Trust that non-guaranteed and voluntary overtime pay, paid over a sufficient period of time, should be included in calculating holiday pay under contractual…
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What do we already know? Gender pay gap reporting was introduced in 2017. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings. The Government’s intention is to encourage employers to consider and, if required, take appropriate actions to reduce or eliminate their…
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It’s nearly April and, as usual, this month sees a spring clean for employment law.  Although we’ve covered the majority of these changes in previous newsletters and alerts, we thought it was worth a quick reminder: 1 April 2019 Increase in National Living and Minimum Wage The new rates are as follows: Age 25 and…
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The Government has published guidance (available here) on how to calculate statutory holiday pay for workers without fixed hours or fixed rates of pay. The guidance is intended to help employers pay the correct amount of holiday pay for all their workers.  It is a practical guide designed to respond to specific questions employers may…
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The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has published two new pieces of guidance (available here) for employers to help them identify the potential causes of any gender pay gap (GPG) within their organisation and develop an effective approach to tackle it: Eight ways to understand your organisation’s gender pay gap (available here); and Four steps to…
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What do we already know? We updated you in our October 2016 Newsflash Gender pay gap – Equal pay case to proceed, our November 2016 blog What does ASDA mean for me?, and September 2017 Newsflash Case update (2): Gender pay gap – equal pay case to proceed on the preliminary Tribunal and EAT’s decisions…
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What do we already know? Annually in April the annual increase in statutory pay rates come into effect which are normally increase in line with the consumer price index (CPI). What’s new? The following proposed increases to statutory payments will be effective in April 2019: The weekly rate of: Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will rise…
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