Two Important Developments Impacting Working Time and Costs

 

 

The surprise announcement of a National Living Wage being introduced from April 2016 has been met with a very mixed reaction.  

 

The living wage rate will start at £7.20 an hour and reach a target of £9.00 in 2020.  It’s expected to result in a pay increase for 6 million workers.  

 

 

The Government has been increasing the penalties and fines for employers who fail to pay the National Minimum Wage. You can expect a similar approach to be taken with the National Living Wage too.  

 

In July 2015, the Government named and shamed 75 employers who failed to pay the National Minimum Wage and were made to pay arrears of £788,000 with penalties of £325,000 as well.  

 

It’s worth considering the impact for you now on your budgets and costs and plan ahead to avoid the damage to your reputation and your coffers if you don’t comply.  

 

 

Do you have employees who are mobile with no fixed place of work?  If you do then you need to consider the impact of the recent decision by the European Court of Justice in Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones obreras v Tyco Integrated Security SL.  

 

Employees who, as part of their job, travel between several client locations on a daily basis and have no fixed place of work, are now entitled to regard the travel between their home and the first and last place of work home as working time.  

 

 

You should review your contracts of employment to ensure you are complying with the National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulations, post this decision.  You may also be able to avoid increasing wage costs by re-drafting elements of the contract.  

 

At the moment there are no similar cases being considered by the European Court of Justice or the UK courts but no doubt there may be challenges ahead given the potential impact of this one.  

 

 

Based in the South East, HR Advise Me provides HR support and assistance to a whole range of businesses and not for profit organisations.  

 

Established in 2007, in response to a growing demand for quality outsourced HR services, the business has grown organically alongside its award winning sister company, Loch Employment Law.  

 

The HR consultants and employment lawyers work closely together to provide a unique and rounded HR service ensuring clients receive expert, practical advice.   

 

We take a flexible approach to working with clients and offer affordable HR support.  We can provide a range of retained options for a fixed monthly fee or ad-hoc advice on an as and when needed basis.  Our team of experienced HR professionals can work onsite or remotely as an outsourced service, depending on what your business requires.