Please note, legislation has been updated in regards to holiday calculations since this article was written, effective for holiday years starting on or after 1 April 2024. If you’re a Moorepay client, please contact us if you need guidance. Otherwise, please see this article on the changes for more information. If your employees earn commission for achieving their targets at work, you need to know if you have to factor this into their payroll. Here are the details. Do employers have to pay commission as part…
Here are a few highlights from the budget which might affect your business: The tax-free Personal Allowance is to rise from £10,600 in 2016 to £11,000, and will increase further to £11,500 in April 2017 The threshold that individuals start paying 40p tax will rise from £42,385 to £43,300 in 2016 and up to £45,000 in April 2017 Class 2 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed to be scrapped Petrol duty will be frozen, saving motorists £75 a year and will have been forzen now…
Starbucks recently became the subject of media attention when a female employee suffering with dyslexia has won a claim for disability discrimination. The claim rose arose from her employer’s failure to make reasonable adjustments for her dyslexia. But what can employers learn from this? Having been being wrongly accused of falsifying documents, the employee brought proceedings in the Employment Tribunal. She successfully argued that, although she had made mistakes, the employer discriminated against her by failing to take into account that these errors arose from her…
Sickness absence costs small businesses around £300, 000 a year. The average employee takes 7 days off work sick per year at an average cost of £550 per employee per day. Whilst absence cannot be eliminated, after all we all get sick once in a while, managing absence in a fair and consistent way can reduce costs and add value to the business. Here are 5 simple steps to help you improve absence within your organisation. 1. Ask the right questions when they call in…
Employees on zero hours contracts could be just as happy as permanent staff, a new survey suggests. The research, from the Charted Institute of Personnel Practice (CIPD), found that on average, zero-hours contract employees experience similar levels of job satisfaction, work-life balance and personal well-being to employee’s on permanent, full-time contracts. In general zero hours contracts have often received bad publicity, but this recent research from the CIPD shows they’re more popular with employees that you might expect. The research suggests that: 65% of zero…
Too much interference from an HR department in disciplinary or investigation processes may lead to a verdict of unfair dismissal, suggests a recent case. Investigating issues of potential misconduct and taking disciplinary action is not the responsibility of the employer's HR department. But how far can HR be involved in the process and outcome of a disciplinary hearing? In the recent case of Ramphal v Department of Transport [2015], the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) was highly critical of an HR department's intervention that appeared to…
The festive period is a time when many businesses see extra demand for their products and services, but it also sees staff absence levels and annual leave requests sky rocket. With a combination of sick days following Christmas parties and a large number of employees requesting time off, it can be difficult for employers to keep track of it all. With the Christmas holidays just around the corner, employers can make it easier on themselves by planning ahead to combat the array of possible holiday…
Winter is here and it could be colder and snowier than normal. Advanced weather models are predicting months of heavy snowfall, with conditions expecting to mirror those of winter 2009 / 2010 which was so long and chilly it was dubbed “the Big Freeze”. Staff absences tend to raise dramatically during extreme weather as road and rail disruption, combined with school closures make it difficult for employees to make it in to work. Effective absence management and flexible working options can help maintain staff productivity…
After your employees leave work at the end of the day, do you lose all control over what they say or do? While you won’t wish to intrude upon their activities or interests outside work, you can legitimately expect them not to engage in activity which may: Result in bad publicity to your organisation Cause you to question their integrity Prevent them from performing their duties/responsibilities to your satisfaction If their behaviour or actions potentially bring your organisation into disrepute, they can still be subject…
Smart phones, the internet, tweeting and blogging have all become part of the 21st century working world, whether employers like it or not. But when do comments made by employees in blogs or on social network sites such as twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or MySpace become an employment issue? What’s the problem? What employees do or say outside work is usually their own choice. However, when this impacts on their work or their employer’s business, it may be legitimate for the employer to intervene. The most…
