HR Update - All change
Jacqui Mann
Monday, October 3, 2016
Traditionally, October is the month when employment law changes are announced. This October is no exception, says Jacqui Mann. (Some implementation dates are to be confirmed.)
NMW increases – from 1 October 2016:
• £6.95 per hour for workers aged 21-24
• £5.55 per hour for workers aged 18-20
• £4 per hour for workers aged under 18
• £3.40 per hour for apprentices.
The National Living Wage, for workers aged 25 or above, is unaffected.
It is thought that future changes to the NMW and NLW will take place at the same time in April each year, from April 2017.
Gender pay gap reporting
Employers with 250 employees or more will be required to publish details on gender pay and gender bonus gap every year.
It is the total headcount that should be counted, not the number of full-time equivalent posts, and apprentices must also be included.
Pay information will need to be based on payments made over the employer’s pay period every April, beginning in April 2017. Any bonus information will need to cover the preceding 12-month period.
Changes to apprenticeships
To protect the term ‘apprenticeship’, training providers won’t be able to describe a course as an ‘apprenticeship’ if the course or training is not a statutory apprenticeship.
Tax- free childcare scheme
The scheme will apply to parents with children aged under 12.
If all parents in a household work and each earns less than £100,000 per year, and has a minimum weekly income at least equivalent to 16 hours at the rate of the NMW or NLW, the Government will pay 20 per cent of their yearly childcare costs (capped at £2,000 for each child). The scheme is due to be introduced early in 2017, but a date has not yet been confirmed.
Employers’ Duties (Implementation) (Amendment) Regulations 2016
From 1 October 2016, the regulations amend the scheduled dates for the planned increases in the minimum level of contribution for pension auto-enrolment, in order to align the increases with the beginning of the tax year. The planned increase in October 2017, to 5 per cent minimum contribution (2 per cent from the employer), will now take effect in April 2018. The planned increase in October 2018, to 8 per cent (3 per cent from the employer), will take effect in April 2019.
