Date 25 January 2012
Employment issues to look out for in 2012:
February 2012
The maximum limit on a week’s pay (ie. For statutory redundancy calculation purposes) will increase from £400 to £430 on 1 February 2012. The maximum compensation which a Claimant can be awarded for unfair dismissal will also increase from £68,400 to £72,300. These new awards will only apply, however, to dismissals which take effect on or after 1 February 2012.
April 2012
The qualifying period of service to bring an unfair dismissal claim will increase from one year to two years. Automatically unfair dismissals will continue to have no qualifying period. Employees who commenced their employment before 1 April 2012 will remain subject to the one year qualifying period.
There will also be an increase in Statutory Payments. Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay will all increase from £128.74 to £135.45.
The Government has also announced a ‘fundamental review’ of Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure, which will include substantial changes to the procedure followed in an Employment Tribunal. This is expected to be introduced in April 2012. Proposed changes include:
1) That employment judges will hear unfair dismissal cases alone in the Tribunal, unless they direct otherwise
2) The maximum amount of a costs order, which a Tribunal may grant in favour of a legally represented party, will increase from £10,000 to £20,000.
October 2012
From 1 October 2012, employers must automatically enrol all eligible employees into the employer’s pension scheme or the National Employment Savings Trust pension scheme (NEST Scheme).
‘Eligible employees’ are those who:
1. Have not already participated in the employers pension scheme;
2. Are over the age of 22;
3. Are under the State pension age;
4. Earn more then £7,475.00 per year;
5. Work in the UK.
In order to encourage participation, the pension contributions made by the employee will be supplemented by the employer, and the amount will be subject to tax relief. There will also be a staged introduction, which means large firms will be the first to implement the automatic enrolment, however employers can elect to start automatic enrolment as early as July 2012.
Contact Us
For further information or to discuss a particular matter or situation in more detail, contact Alexis Asher at our St Albans office by email at alexis.asher@salaw.com or on 01727 798023.
© SA LAW 2011
Every care is taken in the preparation of our articles. However, no responsibility can be accepted to any person who acts on the basis of information contained in them. You are recommended to obtain specific advice in respect of individual cases.