Can you agree a retrospective termination date under a settlement agreement?

This may be problematic as the settlement agreement should reflect the reality of the situation. If the settlement agreement expresses an earlier termination date and the employer only pays tax and national insurance to that earlier date, you could potentially find yourself in trouble with HMRC. It could also be considered a fraud against the Revenue if part of the employee’s salary (due but unpaid) was paid to them as part of the ex gratia payment so as to avoid paying tax and national insurance under the £30,000 tax free exemption. We therefore advise against this approach.

Read more ...

What if an employer makes an employee redundant but immediately re-hires the same employee?

There are risks associated with this. An employee may have been unfairly dismissed if a suitable alternative role was available during the redundancy period and this was not offered to them at the time. Continuity of employment may also have been affected. Maintaining continuous employment is important as certain rights only apply once an employee has 2 years’ continuous service. Another issue is that an employer may have unnecessarily paid out a statutory or an enhanced redundancy payment and perhaps a payment in lieu of notice. If a suitable alternative role is identified during the redundancy period and the employee…

Read more ...

Acas Annual Report 2018/2019

Acas have published their 2018-19 Annual Report, highlighting the demand for their conciliation services following the removal of tribunal fees in 2017. For the full report click here 

Read more ...

Consultation on extending redundancy protection for women and new parents

On 25 January 2019, the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published a consultation document titled Pregnancy and maternity discrimination: extending redundancy protection for women and new parents. This consultation was in response to recent independent reports which showed that 77% of women reported negative experiences at work related to their pregnancy or maternity and that the number of expectant and new mothers forced to leave their jobs had almost doubled since 2005 Extension of redundancy protection to new mothers. The report proposes that the best way to offer further protection for new and expectant mothers is to…

Read more ...

Post-Employment Notice Pay – how to tackle it in Settlement Agreements

Following recent changes in the law, it is now more important than ever that Settlement Agreements explain what will happen (or has happened) to the employee's contractual notice entitlement (including whether there will be a contractual PILON). Parties can also choose to state whether there is any post-employment notice pay (PENP) tax liability under sections 402B and 402C of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA) (whether there is such a liability will depend in part on what happens to the employee's notice entitlement). It is not a legal requirement to state whether there is a PENP liability…

Read more ...