New employment rights raise another red flag for employers
Who’s who on the
payroll is an ongoing challenge for employers in the run up to new payslip
requirements
New payslip
requirements are set to come into force, requiring itemised calculations for
variable rates of pay and hours worked. Alongside, the requirement for payslips
will be extended to include workers, not just employees.
The two amendments to the 1996 Employment Rights Act will
come into force on April 6 2019. From
that date, employees and workers, including those under casual or zero hours
contracts, must receive correctly detailed written, printed or electronic
payslips.
The greater transparency is designed to help employees
understand their pay and see if they are being paid correctly. Also, it is hoped that it will make it easier
to identify if employers are meeting their
obligations under the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage and that holiday
entitlements are correctly applied.
But while the change itself is straightforward, new payroll
procedures and alternative software may be needed to satisfy the new
requirements.
Alongside, a more complex question for many companies when
it comes to implementing the new requirements will be whether someone is an
employee, a worker or a self-employed contractor.
Many organisations
do not recognise that even where someone is not an employee, they may still be
categorised as a ‘worker’ and be entitled to certain rights such as the national living wage, paid
holiday and sick leave. An employee may
also be a ‘worker’, but with extra employment rights and responsibilities.
And the boundaries as to who is a worker and who is
self-employed are increasingly difficult to pin down following high-profile cases involving Uber and other
so-called gig economy companies, with individuals winning the right to be
treated as a worker, rather
than a self-employed contractor.
“Many employers are not meeting legal minimum requirements because
they do not understand their employment law obligations when it comes to
workers. It’s hoped that this new
process will be one step towards improved awareness,” explained Employment expert Elissa Thursfield.
“The distinctions
between an employee, a worker and a self-employed contractor may not be clear
cut for some organisations, so it’s important to keep abreast of what’s
going on in employment law and what legislative changes are coming up. That way you can keep ahead of the deadlines
and make sure you’re facing up to issues that may otherwise pose difficulties
later.”
|
What needs to be included in the
written statement of wages
· the amount of gross wages or
salary
· for any part that varies
according to time worked, the total number of hours worked and the rate of
pay, either as a single aggregate figure or separately for each type of work
or rate of pay
· the amounts of any deductions
and what they relate to
· the net amount of wages or
salary payable
· if paid in parts, the amount
and payment method for each part
|
No comments:
Post a Comment