HR Update - Funding ended March 2011

HUMAN RESOURCES ADVICE

We appreciate that running an organisation is a continual challenge therefore with our expertise in the field of HR you needn’t worry about where to find the latest news, information and updates. These pages will be updated regularly to bring to you all the up-to-the-minute guidance and reports that are affecting HR.

At HAVS we offer initial support and advice on all employment related issues to voluntary sector employers in the borough of Hillingdon. The topics we deal with range from recruitment to retirement and anything in between.

If we are unable to help or the matter is complex we can refer you to a expert on HR in the voluntary & community sector.

HAVS aims to provide accurate, up to date, helpful and expert advice and guidance and if we cannot provide you with all the help you need, we will do our very best to refer you to an appropriate individual or organisation.

Within the division of HR you will find a number of resources that will aid you to keep in line with the ever changing employment legislations and use as a point of call for quick reference to a particular topic that are relevant to your organisation. I hope you find this site useful and we welcome you to the world of HR!

 LATEST FROM ACAS

Agency workers
Also see: Working HoursPOLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Temporary and contract workers play an important role in providing flexibility for UK businesses. Employers who use recruitment agencies are responsible for what they do, so they must be sure the agency acts appropriately and in accordance with their equality and diversity policies.

Agency workers are classed as "workers" rather than as employees. All workers, including agency workers, are entitled to certain rights which include:

•Paid annual leave
•Rest breaks and limits on working time
•The National Minimum Wage
•No unlawful deductions from wages
•Discrimination rights under the Equality Act 2010
•Health and safety at work

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The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 come into force on 1 October 2011.

The regulations will give agency workers the entitlement to the same or no less favourable treatment as comparable employees with respect to basic employment and working conditions, if and when they complete a qualifying period of 12 weeks in a particular job.

Full guidance on the Agency Workers Regulations [PDF, 335kb] can be found on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website. (Guidance may be subject to change prior to regulations coming into force, please check back regularly for updates.)

Acas training: Acas Agency Workers training is available to enable hirers who book agency workers through a temporary worker agency (TWA) to familiarise themselves with the changes coming into effect when the regulations become law and to find out what they will need to do now.

View course details and locations.

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Who is covered by the regulations?
The regulations cover agency workers supplied by a temporary work agency to a hirer. This includes most agency workers that people refer to as 'temps'.

The regulations also cover agency workers supplied via intermediaries.

To establish the rights in these regulations, the agency worker needs to be able to identify a comparator.

Who is not covered by the regulations?
The regulations don't cover the genuinely self-employed, individuals working through their own limited liability company, or individuals working on managed service contracts.

What rights will agency workers have?
From Day 1 of their employment, an agency worker will be entitled to:

•the same access to facilities such as staff canteens, childcare and transport as a comparable employee of the hirer
•be informed about job vacancies.
After a 12-week qualifying period, an agency worker will be entitled to the same basic conditions of employment as if they had been directly employed by the hirer on day one of the assignment, specifically:

•pay - including any fee, bonus, commission, or holiday pay relating to the assignment. It does not include redundancy pay, contractual sick pay, and maternity, paternity or adoption pay
•working time rights - for example, including any annual leave above what is required by law.
Agency Workers (regardless of their employment status) will also be entitled to paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments during their working hours.

Does the 12-week qualifying period have to be continuous?
No, most breaks between or during an assignment to the same job that are less than six weeks in length will simply pause the accrual of the 12-week qualifying period. Most breaks between or during an assignment to the same job that are six weeks or more will reset the 12-week qualifying period.

The accrual of 12 weeks qualifying period can be paused by:

•absences for sickness and jury service (for up to 28 weeks)
•annual leave, shut downs (e.g. factory closures and school holidays) and industrial action (for the duration of the absence).
Pregnancy and maternity-related absences, maternity leave, paternity leave and adoption leave will not pause the 12-week accrual at all - instead the12-week accrual period will continue throughout the duration of the absence and include these weeks as those counting towards the 12-week total.

What if an agency worker is working on more than one assignment?
If an agency worker is working on more than one assignment the agency worker will have two or more assignments that need to accrue separately. In other words if an agency worker has assignment A and assignment B, they would need to work for 12 weeks on assignment A before their rights apply to assignment A and 12 weeks on assignment B before their rights apply to assignment B.

The regulations require that a new assignment would need to comprise 'substantively different work or duties' for the qualifying period to start again.

What is a 'comparative employee'?
The regulations aim to ensure an agency worker is engaged on the same relevant terms and conditions as a "comparable employee". In other words, "what terms and conditions would the agency worker have got if they had been directly recruited into the role?"

An employee is a 'comparable employee' if at the time of an alleged breach of the regulations:

•both employee and agency worker are working for and under the supervision and direction of the hirer
•both employee and agency worker are engaged in the same or broadly similar work (this could include an examination of qualification and skills)
•the employee works or is based at the same establishment as the agency worker (the employee can work or be based at a different establishment but only where such an employee cannot be found working or based at the same establishment).
The Agency Workers Directive will come into force on 1 October 2011 and the main principle of the directive is to give equal treatment to someone who has been with the hirer for 12 continuous weeks in a given job. The agency worker will be entitled to at least the basic working and employment conditions such as pay and working time which are equal to the hirer's own employees.

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Acas training
Acas have scheduled training courses which will help familiarise you with the changes coming into effect when the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 come into force in October and what you will need to do now.

The courses have been designed for the hirer (end user), which includes companies, partnerships, sole traders and public bodies who book agency workers via a temporary work agency (TWA).

Find a course in your area.

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Further information
Read more about Acas training and business solutions.

Online customer contact form - let us know how we can help.

Further information
Other Sites
BIS- Agency Workers regulations guidance [PDF, 335kb]
BIS - Employment Agency Standards inspectorate
Business Link - Taking on staff - the options
Directgov - Agency worker employment rights
Acas Publications
BIS handout - Agency workers pdf [2Mb]
BIS handout - Agency workers

Here you will be able to gain access to template policies and procedures which you may wish to implement at your own organisation. If you have any queries regarding the information found here please do not hesitate to contact us on 01895 442 722.

LATEST EMPLOYMENT LAW CHANGES - APRIL 2011 

Bribery offences introduced
1 July 2011

The Bribery Act 2010 aims to promote anti-bribery practices among businesses, by modernising the law on bribery. The Act introduces a corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery by persons working on behalf of a business. A business has a defence if it has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. The penalty is an unlimited fine. For individuals, it will be a criminal offence to give, promise or offer a bribe and to request, agree to receive or accept a bribe. The legislation raises the maximum penalty for bribery by individuals from seven to 10 years’ imprisonment. The Act can be viewed on the UK legislation website.

Specific duties to support the general equality duty come into force in England
July 2011

The Equality Act 2010 creates a single public sector equality duty, and states that specific duties can be created to help public bodies meet their requirements under this general duty. The Government published draft Regulations on the specific duties in January 2011, but is seeking views on revised draft Regulations that reduce the burden on public bodies. Under the revised Regulations, public authorities would be required to publish information to demonstrate compliance with the general duty no later than 31 December 2011, and publish their equality objectives no later than 6 April 2012.

National minimum wage increases to £6.08 per hour
1 October 2011

The main rate of the national minimum wage rises from £5.93 to £6.08 per hour. The development rate increases from £4.92 to £4.98 per hour, the rate for workers aged 16 to 17 from £3.64 to £3.68 per hour, and the apprentice rate from £2.50 to £2.60 per hour.

Statutory sick pay, and statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay increases from April 11.

The standard rates for Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay increased from £124.88 to £128.73; and
Statutory Sick Pay increased from £79.15 to £81.60.
 

Vetting and barring scheme introduced
To be confirmed

A scaled back vetting and barring scheme for individuals working with children and vulnerable adults is introduced. The Protection of Freedoms Bill amends the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 by abolishing registration with the scheme and monitoring requirements. It maintains a barring scheme but redefines the activities to which the scheme applies. The Protection of Freedoms Bill, (PDF format 595K) can be viewed on the UK Parliament website and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 can be viewed on the UK legislation website.

Parental leave increases from three to four months
8 March 2012

The minimum parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child increases from three to four months. At least one of the four months will not be transferable between parents. Member states have until 8 March 2012 to bring this into force.

Additional Paternity Leave & Pay

The Additional Leave Regs & Additional statutory Paternity Pay Regs which came into force last year apply to parents of children due on or before 3rd April 2011.

Statutory Maternity , Paternity & Adoption pay increases to £128.73.

The default retirement age will be phased out and any retirement dismissal notified after 6th April will, if not justified be unlawful.

Personal Accounts scheme starts up under Pensions Act 2008
October 2012

The Pensions Act 2008 provides that employers must enrol automatically all eligible employees not already participating in a workplace pension scheme into the employer's pension scheme or the new personal accounts scheme under the National Employment Savings Trust pension scheme. The threshold for automatic enrolment is aligned with the personal allowance for income tax. Employers are not required automatically to enrol individuals employed for under 12 weeks. To encourage participation, employees’ pension contributions will be supplemented by employers' contributions and tax relief. Details of the scheme can be viewed on the DWP website. The Pensions Act 2008 can be viewed on the UK legislation website.

In line with current legislation, we are in the process of updating our policies and therefore all the latest and up to date procedures will be displayed shortly.

vpeck@havs.org.uk
 

Click here to access useful online documents and links from HAVS HR