Employment Law FAQs

What is the current rate of Statutory Sick Pay?

£81.60 per week

What are the current National Minimum Wage Rates?
• £6.08 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
• £4.98 - the 18-20 rate
• £3.68 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
• £2.60 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

What is the qualifying period to receive Statutory Maternity Pay?
An employee must have been employed by the same employer continuously for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week the baby is due (the qualifying week).  The employee must also be earning, on average, an amount which at least equals the lower earnings limit which applies on the Saturday at the end of your qualifying week

What is the current lower earnings limit?
£102 per week for the current tax year.

How much Statutory Maternity Pay will an employee receive?
An employee should receive 90 per cent of her average gross weekly earnings with no upper limit for the first six weeks and for the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate of £128.73 per week, or 90 per cent of her average gross weekly earnings

What is Additional Statutory Paternity Leave?
Additional paternity leave is the concept of transferring the mother’s maternity leave and, in most cases pay, to the father.  Additional paternity leave is for a maximum of 26 weeks. If an employee’s partner has returned to work, the leave can be taken between 20 weeks and one year after the child is born or placed for adoption. The employee is entitled to receive Additional Statutory Paternity Pay for the balance of his or her partner's Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or Adoption Pay period.

How many years’ service do I need to be eligible for a Statutory Redundancy Payment?
2 years

How many years’ service is needed to raise a claim for unfair dismissal?
1 year.  The Government are proposing to raise this to 2 years service from 1 April 2012.

Can an employee be made to retire at 65?
Since 6 April 2011, dismissing an employee solely on the basis that they have reached the age of 65 is no longer a fair reason for dismissal.  However, employers may be able to use a default retirement age providing that it can be objectively justified.

Is an employee entitled to get all bank holidays off?
This is dependent upon what it states in the employee’s contract of employment.  If all statutory holidays are included in the employee’s holiday entitlement then it may be that the employee has a contractual right to all bank holidays.  However, if it is stipulated in the employment contract that the employee is entitled to a particular number of bank holidays, to supplement their requirement to receive their allocation in terms of the Working Time Regulations, then it may be that any extra holidays (e.g. royal weddings) may not be included in the employee’s allocation of holidays.

What is Redundancy?
Redundancy is defined by s.139 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 which states that an employee is dismissed by reason of redundancy if the business where he or she is carrying out work or the work they are required to do, has ceased or diminished or is expected to cease or diminish.

What is flexible working?
An employee has the right to request a flexible working arrangement with his or her employer and the employer is under an obligation to properly consider it if the employee is a carer or has a child under 16.  Flexible working requests must be dealt with by employers within very strict timescales and under strict criteria.  It is important that if you get advice in respect of such a request and that you get in touch with a solicitor as soon as possible.  We are happy to help.

What is meant by whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is the phrase given to a situation whereby an employee makes a ‘qualifying disclosure,’ which is normally to the detriment of his or her employer.  If the disclosure qualifies as a protected disclosure, and the employee is dismissed for making it, he or she will be able to claim that their dismissal was automatically unfair.  Workers are also protected from suffering any detriment as a result of making a qualifying disclosure.

What is direct discrimination?
A type of discrimination that occurs where, because of a protected characteristic, a person (A) treats another person (B) less favourably than A treats or would treat others (section 13(1), Equality Act 2010). In relation to the protected characteristic of age only, there is no direct discrimination where the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

What is indirect discrimination?
A type of discrimination  that occurs where person A applies to person B an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice that A would apply equally to others, but which puts or would put those who share B's protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage. There will be no discrimination if the use of provision, criterion or practice can be objectively justified.

How many holidays is an employee entitled to?
An employee working 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday is entitled to 5.6 weeks’ holiday per year.  This works out at 28 days per year.

How many breaks should an employee receive in one day?
Workers have the right to take an uninterrupted 20-minute rest break, away from the workstation, if they work more than six hours in a day or shift.

How is an employee’s statutory notice period calculated?
The period of notice is normally written into the employee’s contract of employment.  However, it must not be less than the current statutory minimum notice period. An employee who has been employed for more than one month, but less than two years, is entitled to a statutory minimum notice period of at least one week.  Where the employee has been employed for more than two years, but less than 12 years, they are entitled to one week's statutory notice for each year of continuous employment.  If the employee has been employed for more than 12 years, the statutory minimum notice period is 12 weeks.

How much notice must an employee give to his or her employer?
Again, this will normally be written into the employee’s contract of employment.  However, if it is not, the employee will required to provide the employer with at least one week’s notice if they have been employed for one month or more.

What happens if an employee does not have a contract of employment?
It is always advisable, for both the employer and the employee, to have in place a clear written contract of employment setting out the employee’s rights and obligations in relation to the employment relationship.  Nonetheless, the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires that each employee must, as a minimum, receive a statement of the main terms of their employment within two months of the start of their employment.

Is there a time limit by which an employee must raise a claim after his or her employment is terminated?
An employee must lodge an application in respect of most types of claim within 3 months of the date they were dismissed or left their employment.

How is compensation for unfair dismissal calculated?
If a claimant is successful, a Tribunal will first consider making a basic award.  A basic award is calculated in a similar way to a redundancy payment.  The Tribunal will then make an award of compensation that is just and equitable compensation for the Claimant’s loss.  This is likely to include his or her losses in respect of salary and other benefits up to the date of the Tribunal hearing and then their continuing loss for a further period that the Tribunal believes is likely before he or she will be able to obtain comparable employment.

How long does an employer have to respond to a tribunal claim?
An employer must respond to a tribunal claim within 28 days.

How can an employer dismiss an employee without the employee being able to bring a claim for unfair dismissal?
There is nothing an employer can do that will guarantee that an employee will not consider that their dismissal was unfair and bring a claim.  However, an employer can make sure that it is careful to follow the correct procedure and, if it is necessary to do so, dismiss an employee for one of the potentially fair reasons under the Employment Rights Act in order to make the chances of having to face a claim more unlikely.  The potentially fair reasons are: conduct, capability, redundancy, breach of a statutory requirement and some other substantial reason.

What is TUPE?
TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 which ensure that individuals’ employment terms and conditions transfer to a transferee when a business or service provision is transferred to a new entity.  TUPE ensures that employees’ contractual rights are protected and ensures that individuals’ are adequately informed and, if necessary, consulted before a transfer takes place.  TUPE also ensures that an employee cannot be fairly dismissed by reason of a transfer unless their dismissal is for an economic, technical or organisational reason.