What’s new in employment law?
National Minimum Wage
The 1st October 2016 bought with it
an increase in National Minimum Wage
(NMW) rates whilst the National Living
Wage remains static at £7.20 per hour.
One hundred and ninety eight
companies who breached the NMW
legislation were named and shamed
in August 2016, with many of those
subjected to a heavy penalty as well.
Employers should remember that
employees who have been underpaid
can bring a claim in the Employment
Tribunal, so it is sensible to undertake
a pay audit now to make sure staff are
being paid correctly for the hours that
they work.
Discrimination
The European Court of Justice (ECJ)
recently decided that a person can not
bring a (sex or age) discrimination claim
out of an employer’s refusal to offer
them an interview (and by extension a
job) unless that person actually wanted
the job in the first place.
A German company advertised for legal
graduates and required applicants to
possess a good university degree in law,
either completed within the past year
or to be completed within the coming
months, as well as relevant practical
vocational experience – for example as
an apprentice, trainee or student worker.
K, a male lawyer and former manager
with an insurance company, applied for
one of the legal trainee positions. When
his application was rejected, K wrote
complaining of age discrimination and
demanding compensation. He later
added a sex discrimination claim to
his complaints when he found out that
all four vacancies had been filled by
women.
The national courts in Germany rejected
his claim having found that he had only
applied for the trainee role with the
intention of seeking compensation. The
claim was referred to the ECJ on the
question of whether somebody who
applies for a role only with the intention
of seeking compensation is afforded
the protection of anti-discrimination
legislation.
The answer was a short, sharp no; EU
law can not be relied on for abusive or
fraudulent ends.
At least while we remain part of the
European Union this decision is helpful
to employers who might find themselves
having to fend off vexatious claims of a
similar nature.
Gender Pay Reporting
The Government has confirmed that
the publication of the Gender Pay Gap
Information Regulations has been
delayed. Although they envisage
that regulations will be laid before
Parliament in the autumn it is a case of
watch this space which isn’t to say that
employers should cancel any pay audits
already underway; quite the opposite.
Employers should still prepare for the
regime if they will have 250 or more
‘relevant employees’ as at 30 April 2017.
By Sam Dickinson
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