The latest hot topics in employment law

Increase in tribunal claims

Employment tribunal statistics for the final quarter of 2018 show that tribunals are receiving 23 percent more claims than they were for the same period last year. This shows that despite employment tribunal fees being removed in July 2017, the impact of this still appears to be having a large effect.

The most common complaint disposed of by the tribunals was unauthorised deductions, whereas a year ago it was unfair dismissal. This finding shows that claims related to pay are on the increase.

Itemised payslips

From April 2019 anyone who falls under the category of being a ‘worker’ must be given an itemised payslip for all pay periods which began on or after 6 April 2019.  Additional information must also be given on the payslips for those workers whose pay varies depending on the number of hours worked. Payslips for these individuals must include information about the number of paid hours worked.

A worker who thinks that they have not received a payslip, or that the payslip they have received lacks the required information, may bring a claim before an Employment Tribunal. The Tribunal may make a declaration and order repayment of unnotified deductions made in the 13 weeks preceding the presentation of the claim even where the employer was otherwise entitled to make the deduction.

Gender Pay Gap

Businesses with 250 or more employees have recently published their second set of data. Overall, there has been a slight reduction in the median pay gap from 9.7 percent to 9.6 percent in favour of men. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has the power to take enforcement action against any organisation who fails to publish their data on time and we will wait to see to what extent this is implemented.

The Government Equalities Office has published guidance on how to promote the progression of women at work.

The Government have also introduced a voluntary reporting procedure on disability, mental health and wellbeing.  We are yet to see whether this will become a mandatory requirement in the future.

ACAS Guidance

ACAS has published new pieces of guidance for employers including guidance on neurodiversity. This sets out the different types of neurodivergence such as autism and dyslexia and how employers can support an inclusive working environment and improve health and wellbeing across the organisation.

Guidance has also been issued on the topic of age discrimination in light of the fact that staff aged over 50 now make up nearly a third of the UK workforce.  The guidance looks at how to ensure you as an employer are compliant with the Equality Act and the areas where age discrimination are most likely to happen such as during promotion processes.

Further information and support

Our dedicated team of employment law solicitors are experienced in all areas of employment law, so please contact a member of the Employment Team if you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article.

Our subsidiary company, Kent HR further supports businesses with employment strategy, planning and implementing of practical measures to assist businesses with their human resources function.

This content is correct at time of publication