Changes from April, 2020

• Currently, an employee has to be given their written statement of employment within two months of starting employment, from April, they will need to be given this by day 1 of their employment.   The following also needs to be included in the statement:  The duration and conditions of any probationary period/details of days and times they are required to work including whether times are variable and how they  may vary/details of entitlement to paid leave or other benefits/ details of training entitlements.

• Currently the holiday pay of a worker who has irregular working hours is calculated by averaging the number of hours worked over the previous 12 weeks (reference period)   Under the new regs, this reference period will change to 52 weeks ( or however many weeks they have worked if they are new)

• Changes to Agency Workers – All agency workers will be entitled to equal pay treatment after 12 weeks/Must receive a key information document about their engagement, including, identity, minimum rate of pay and deductions, how they are paid, an estimate of pay and details of annual leave and pay.

• Changes to ICE (Information and Consultation of Employees) Regulations

              From 6th April 2020, there will be a reduction in the percentage of employees required to make a valid request for an agreement on the sharing of information and consultation within the workplace. Currently it is at least 10% of the workforce who must put in a request before an employer is obliged  to take steps to comply

              with this right. This percentage will be reduced to 2%. The requirement that at least 15 employees make the request will remain.

• Changes to IR35 rules for the Private Sector -  From 6 April 2020, changes to IR35 rules will be implemented for medium and large businesses in the private sector and will largely mirror changes that took effect in the public sector in 2017.

              Under the new regime, for all contracts entered into, or payments made on or after 6 April 2020, the onus will shift from the PSC to the end user client to make a status determination. Responsibility for accounting for tax and national insurance will shift to the party who pays for the individual's services, known as the 'fee-

             payer'. In anticipation of these changes, it is essential that medium and large businesses carry out an assessment to determine whether the new rules under IR35 apply to their independent contractors and review their contracts and pay arrangements. Small businesses will not be caught by the changes.

             https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax  - Useful link that you can use to check the status of your workers.   

             The government have confirmed a few further points on this:

• The government’s only significant concession is to introduce a light touch approach to penalties for the first year of operation. Fines will not be issued in the first year unless HMRC suspects tax evasion or abuse of the system;
• There will be a new legal obligation on client companies to respond to a request for information about their size from the agency or worker;
• The government has committed to not operating the rules retrospectively; the new rules will only apply to payments for services carried out on or after 6 April 2020;
• HMRC will keep the dedicated IR35 project team in place to help with enquiries and maintain a communication programme with affected large and medium-sized businesses;
• Information resulting from changes to the rules will not be used to open new investigations into personal service companies for tax years prior to 6 April 2020, unless there is reason to suspect fraud or criminal behaviour; 

• New Parental bereavement law – two weeks leave following the loss of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-first-parents-who-lose-a-child-entitled-to-bereavement-leave

• Rise in Minimum wage – Including the National Living Wage will increase from £8.21 to £8.72 for workers over the age of 25. 

Any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Thanks

Jan - 07968 325271