Preparing for employment legislation changes in April 2020. Is your association ready?

We’ve outlined the upcoming changes to legislation to help you prepare and understand your obligations as an employer and your rights as an employee.

The Good Work Plan

Cited as ‘The future of the UK labour market’, the Good Work Plan commits to clarifying employment legislation for the mutual benefit of employer and employee. As such, it has changed the face of employment law, and in April 2020 further recommendations are set to be implemented, affecting businesses of all sizes across the UK.

Contracts

From April 2020, employers will be required to provide written employment statements/contracts prior to commencement or on the first day of employment. This applies to permanent, fixed term or those categorised as workers.

Parental bereavement leave and pay

Biological parents, carers, adoptive parents, foster parents and primary carers are entitled to 2 weeks’ bereavement leave in the event a child under the age of 18 dies or a stillbirth after 24 weeks is suffered. In order to take statutory paid bereavement leave employees must have been in continuous employment for more than 26 weeks.

Holiday pay

To provide fair holiday pay for those who work irregular hours, pay will be calculated based on 52 weeks or on the total number of weeks worked. Previously calculations were based on a 12-week model.

Pay for agency workers

All agency workers will be entitled to comparable pay to permanent employees after a 12 week period. Existing agency workers will need to be moved onto a permanent pay rate by April 30 2020.

“Key facts page” for agency workers

Businesses will be required to provide agency workers with a “key facts page” citing certain details including the type of contract they are employed under, the minimum rate of pay and detail any fees that they will receive or that may be taken. This will provide additional clarity and stability for agency workers, particularly when intermediary companies are involved in their employment.

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

Hourly rates for both National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage are going up:

• National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and over: £8.72 (from £8.21)
• National Minimum Wage for workers aged 21-24: £8.20 (from £7.70)
• National Minimum Wage for workers aged 18-20: £6.45 (from £6.15)
• National Minimum Wage for school leavers under 18: £4.55 (from £4.35)
• Apprentice Minimum Wage: £4.15 (from £3.90)

The finance and governance teams at CJAM specialise in future-proofing all elements of administration and legislation for our clients. If you would like assistance or advice regarding the upcoming changes and would like to find out more about how we could help you manage your association, contact us on 01787 226995