Legal Ease

Statutory Payment Rates From 6 April 2009
The standard rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) increases to £79.15.

The standard Statutory Maternity (SMP), Paternity SPP) and Adoption (SAP) Leave pay rate increases to £123.06 or the earnings-related rate, which is 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings.

Adverse Weather Conditions
A high number of employees failed to turn up to work when snow hit the UK last month. It highlighted that not all employers have made it clear to employees that if they are unable to attend work due to adverse weather conditions the time would be deducted as holiday, unpaid or made up. Some employees expected to be paid for staying at home! To ensure clarity we advise that you include a paragraph in your Handbook stating that in the case of adverse weather conditions employees who fail to turn up for work citing bad weather as their reason for non attendance will not automatically be paid. They will be expected to take the time as paid holiday; make the time up within an agreed period or unpaid leave.

Holiday Pay During Long Term Sick Leave
The Court of Appeal ruled in 2005 that statutory annual leave did not accrue if an employee was absent from work for the entire holiday year. The case was appealed to the House of Lords who referred the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The ECJ held that workers on long-term sick leave ARE entitled to paid statutory annual leave under the Working Time Regulations (WTR) even if they have been off work for the whole year. A worker whose employment is terminated while on long-term sick leave must be paid in lieu for that holiday at his normal rate.

Employers in the private sector are advised to wait for the House of Lords give a final judgement later this year before implementing any change, but it is likely that they will have to bear this additional cost. This potentially means that sick employees have a right to a payment in lieu of statutory annual leave if they have been absent on sick leave for the whole of the annual leave year, or if they were absent on sick leave for part of the leave year, and remain on sick leave when their employment terminates.

Employers can probably take a stricter line in relation to contractual holiday that exceeds the statutory minimum if is explicit in their contract of employment and/or Handbook. Therefore, you could include in your contract of employment and Absence policy that sick employees will only accrue statutory holiday entitlement when absent on long term sick leave.

We will inform you when the House of Lords make the final decision so ….…Watch this Space

Restructuring & Redundancies
We are running further workshop on Restructuring and Redundancies on the 20th May 2009 to help businesses deal with having to restructure during these difficult economic times and any subsequent redundancies which may result in such changes.