| HR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Jackie Le Poidevin, Editor-in-Chief, HR Adviser |
Employees Set to Gain Right to Carer’s Leave: Understand Your Obligations
A private member’s bill entitling employees with caring responsibilities to take time off work has a good chance of becoming law after receiving government backing. Read on to discover what your duties are likely to be should the new law come into effect.
The Carer’s Leave Bill, introduced by Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain, passed its second reading in the House of Commons on October 21st. The government consulted on proposals for a similar bill in 2020 and confirmed in 2021 that it would introduce a right to carer’s leave. Progress stalled but the government has now announced its support for the new bill, which means it’s likely to complete its passage through Parliament and receive Royal Assent.
What Rights Would Employees Gain?
Full details of the right would be set out in separate regulations but, so far, we know that:
- Employees will be entitled to up to 5 working days’ leave per year to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
- ‘Long-term care need’ means the person requires care for more than 3 months, has a disability or needs care for a reason connected with their old age.
- The leave will be unpaid.
- Carer’s leave will be available from Day 1 of employment.
- Employees will be able to take the leave flexibly (i.e. not in a single block).
- To ensure ‘a smoother process for both businesses and their employees’, employees won’t need to provide evidence of how they will be using the leave or who they will be using it to care for.
- Employees will be protected from dismissal or detriment as a result of having taken time off – just as they are when they take other forms of family-related leave.The government estimates that the new right will help around two-million people who are juggling work and unpaid care. It also believes employers will benefit thanks to fewer people having to leave their job because of their caring responsibilities.
What to Do Now
There’s no timescale yet for when this may become law. However, publicity around the bill has highlighted that a significant number of people are trying to balance work and caring responsibilities. According to the charity Carers UK, an average of 600 people a day leave the labour market to care – a figure that’s likely to increase as the UK population grows.
By providing support now, you can lower staff turnover and cut the cost of recruiting and training replacement personnel. You’ll also boost affected employees’ motivation and loyalty, reduce their stress and fatigue and make your business more attractive as an employer.
6 Actions to Support Staff Who are Carers
Some key ways in which you can help your employees to manage their caring responsibilities include:
- Offering unpaid leave – or you could consider giving a certain number of days’ paid carer’s leave to give you an advantage when hiring staff.
- Giving paid or unpaid time off for medical and other important appointments.
- Offering flexible working options on a temporary or permanent basis. For example, you might look at part-time working, flexible start and finish times or working from home where this is possible.
- Signposting staff to sources of advice and help (e.g. your mental health first aiders).
- Training line managers to offer assistance.
- Setting up an employee network so staff who are carers can give each other emotional and practical support.
| HEALTH & SAFETY
Michael Ellerby, Editorial Board Member, Health & Safety Adviser and Risk Assessment & Compliance |
Be Ready for the Safety Risks of Potential Blackouts
Businesses and employees are facing many challenges at present and there is now the added threat of power outages this winter. In the UK, as well as much of western Europe, supplies of oil and natural gas are being strained by the effects of the war in Ukraine. In its Winter Outlook Report, the National Grid Electricity System Operator has warned that in the unlikely event that insufficient gas supply coincides with reduced electricity imports from continental Europe, it could be forced to implement planned, temporary blackouts to manage demand.
What Does this Mean for Businesses?
According to the Electricity Supply Emergency Code (ESE Code), planned blackouts would take the form of rolling, three-hour power outages or disconnections during which consumers in particular localities would be given one day’s notice that they would lose power. It should be considered that the length and frequency of any blackouts and the amount of notice that will be given to consumers is likely to be unpredictable.
Plan Ahead
Some businesses will be affected more than others by planned blackouts and you don’t want to be caught off guard. Now is the time to dust off the Business Continuity plans, assess the risks and prepare to adapt to unprecedented circumstances. How to plan:
- Shutting down time – If you need to shut down equipment, ensure that this is safely completed before the lights go out and things stop moving. Don’t let materials solidify (such as resins, plastics, paints, etc.). Monitor the operation of your emergency lighting and ensure that the system recharges properly – be vigilant for failing batteries and lamps (these may not have been challenged in recent years).
- Working time – It may be possible to reduce disruption by changing your working hours, though this may be difficult with short notice. Power outages may be focussed between 4pm and 7pm, so something to consider is whether you can adjust shift patterns or opening times around this. You should also consider the safety of staff travelling home during these times.
- Communicate with staff – Set up simple and effective systems to communicate messages to staff.
- Servers – If you have onsite servers, ensure that these are allowed to shutdown properly and avoid data loss.
- Site security – Consider the effects of power cuts on site security systems (such as intruder alarms, CCTV, Maglock systems on doors, etc.). Be aware that there may be multiple false alarms due to power cuts.
- Emergency generators – if you have such plant and equipment, make sure that it is in good working condition, that you have sufficient fuel for your needs, and test the operation and switchover of your systems.
- Provide support for employees – it is not only businesses that will be affected, but also their workers. Try to provide reassurances, support, and information to your staff. You may wish to allow homeworkers to come into the workplace if their home is affected but your site is not.
- Continuing to work during these conditions? – Think through the health and safety implications and ensure that you have appropriate risk assessments in place.
- Open to the public? – Many retailers will not be able to trade without power, even if they wished to stay open. It is essential to make your plans and arrangements early and to involve staff in the process. Ensure that you have thought through the risks and that they are being managed appropriately.
| PAYROLL
Sarah Bradford, Editor-in-Chief, Pay & Benefits Adviser |
Benefit from a NIC Reduction when You Employ an Armed Forces Veteran
In the October 2022 issue of their Employer Bulletin publication, HMRC highlight the National Insurance savings that are available to employers who take on an armed forces veteran. They also remind employers that by employing former members of the armed forces they are able to ‘tap into a unique pool of skilled and talented new recruits’. There is no limit on the number of armed forces veterans that an employer can take on, and no cap on the NIC savings that they can enjoy as a result.
Nature of the Relief
The relief reduces the amount of secondary contributions that the employer has to pay on the earnings of an armed forces veteran in the first year of their first civilian employment since leaving the armed forces.
A person counts as an armed forces veteran if they have served at least 1 day in the regular armed forces or completed at least 1 day of basic training. It applies to the first post-forces civilian employment, regardless of when the veteran left the armed forces.
It works in a similar way to the reliefs that apply in respect of employees under the age of 21 and apprentices under the age of 25 in that the employer pays contributions at a zero rate on the earnings of the armed forces veteran up to the Veterans upper secondary threshold.
As for the upper secondary threshold for under 21s and the apprentice upper secondary threshold, this is aligned with the upper earnings limit applying for employee’s contributions. For 2022/23, the thresholds are set at £967 per week; £4,189 per month; £50,270. It is also aligned with the point at which an employee in receipt of the standard personal allowance starts paying higher rate tax.
The effect of the relief is that the employer does not pay any secondary contribution if the earnings of the armed forces veteran are below the veterans upper secondary threshold. Where the veteran’s earnings exceed the threshold, the employer pays secondary contributions on the excess at the normal secondary Class 1 rate (13.8% from 6 November 2022). The relief is worth up £473.48 per veteran per month (13.8% [£4,189 – £758]).
Giving Effect to the Relief
Since 6 April 2022, relief is given through the payroll by using category letter V for the veteran where category letter A would otherwise apply. It was also available for the 2021/22 tax year, and where the employer qualified for the relief for this tax year, it could be claimed retrospectively through the payroll from 6 April 2022.
The next section of the guidance asks for the start date of the employment, whether the employee has another job and whether they receive pension payments. It also asks if the employee has h
If, in the absence of the relief, the veteran’ category letter is other than A (for example, B, T C, W, J and Q), the employer should continue to apply their normal category letter; they will need to write to HMRC after the end of the tax year to claim the relief.
The relief only applies for the first 12 months of the veteran’s first post-forces civilian employment. At the end of this period, the employer must pay secondary contributions on the veteran’s earnings where these exceed the secondary threshold (£175 per week; £758 per month; £9,100 per year for 2022/23).
It is important that procedures are in place to ensure that the category letter reverts to A at the end of the relief period.
Employee Contributions
The relief only applies to employer’s secondary Class 1 contributions. Veteran’s pay employee (primary) contributions as for other employees to the extent that their earnings exceed the primary threshold. Since 6 July 2022, this is set at £242 per week (£1,048 per month).