Last updated at 15:39, Monday, 28 March 2011

DOCTOR Mark Butler grew up in Whitehaven, attending St Begh’s RC High School, St Benedict’s RC High School and West Cumbria Catholic Sixth Form Centre before going on to study law at Manchester University. He completed his undergraduate studies in law in 2003, his Masters in international business law in 2004 and his PhD on non-discrimination law in 2009. Mark has lectured in employment law at Manchester University and is currently a lecturer in law at Lancaster University, and is also a non-practising barrister. In The Whitehaven News, he will bring you his thoughts on the latest developments in employment law that could affect you.

March 30 - How to claim what you're entitled to

Statutory Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay

THE rates of statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay are all being increased as from April 3, 2011. All three are being increased from £124.88 per week to £128.73 per week.

However, in order to qualify for these payments, the employee must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks before the date which marks 15 weeks before the expected date of childbirth, as well as have earned an amount that is at least equal to the lower earnings limit.

The lower earnings limit is currently set at £97 per week, but is being increased as from April 3, 2011 to £102 per week.

Statutory Sick Pay

STATUTORY sick pay is being increased on April 3 from its current rate of £79.15 to £81.60.

In terms of statutory paternity leave, as from the April 3, 2011 the Government is also extending the right to paternity leave.

At present, an employee can take either one week or two weeks’ paternity leave during the child’s first eight weeks following birth if they can establish that they are one of the following:

• the biological father of the child;
• a partner/husband that is not the baby’s biological father; or
• a female partner in a same sex couple.

The employee must also be able to declare to the employer that:

• s/he will be responsible for the child’s upbringing, and
• s/he will take time off work to support the mother or care for the child.

In addition those seeking to take paternity leave must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the date that marks 15 weeks before the child’s expected date of birth.

This entitlement is being increased through the introduction of additional paternity leave, which is for a maximum of 26 weeks.

The additional paternity leave can only be taken during the period following the child reaching 20 weeks old and its first birthday.

In addition to satisfying the period of work noted above, additional paternity leave is limited to those families where the mother was entitled to statutory maternity leave, statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance, but has decided to return to work and consequently ceased claiming any relevant pay.

Retirement Ages

AS from April 6, the process of removing the default retirement age (currently set at 65) begins.

Although there are fairly complex transitional arrangements covering mandatory retirements taking place up until October 1, the ultimate outcome is that as from October 1, there will be no default retirement age.

This will mean that decisions with regards retirement will be done on an individual basis, and will be subject to the dismissal procedures.

January 20, 2011 - How to ensure you are paid what you're entitled to

MOST workers in the UK, other than the genuine self-employed, are entitled to receive the national minimum wage. However, the rate of pay differs depending on the person’s age and on whether they are an apprentice.

National minimum wage currently stands at:

• £5.93 per hour for workers aged 21 or over;
• £4.92 per hour for workers aged 18-21;
• £3.64 per hour for workers who are above school leaving age but under the age of 18.
• £2.50 per hour if the worker is an apprentice under the age of 19, or is an apprentice over the age of 19 but in their first year of their apprenticeship scheme.

Since January 1, any expenses given for travel and subsistence, and which are eligible for tax relief, will not count towards National Minimum Wage pay.

It is not possible to sign out of these minimum rates of pay; signing a contract to work for lower pay will have no legal effect.

Working Time Developments

THERE have been two quite interesting case law developments in the area of working time: the cases of Stringer and Pereda, where the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on the interaction of sick leave and paid annual leave under the Working Time Directive.

As a result of the ECJ ruling in Stringer:

• an individual can still accrue paid annual leave during sick leave. This is even the case where the employee is on long-term sick extending over a year and does no work
• workers can opt take their annual leave at the same time as sick leave and receive their normal rate of pay rather than statutory sick pay
• if payments are made in lieu of holiday leave, the payment must take into account any holiday leave that has accrued, including that which accrued during sick leave.

In the case of Pereda, the ECJ ruled that if a worker falls ill before they take holiday leave that has already been arranged, then the worker may reclaim any period of holiday leave that the illness overlaps with, and take it at a later date.

Unfair Dismissal and Redundancy Payments

THE method that is used for calculating redundancy payments is the same as that used to calculate the basic award in an unfair dismissal, and is as follows: Weekly wage x multiplier x years of service.

The weekly wage is subject to a maximum of £380; however, this rises to £400 on February 1, 2011.

The multiplier is determined based on the age of the individual (aged 16-22 a multiplier of 0.5; aged 22-41 a multiplier of 1, and; aged over 41 a multiplier of 1.5).

The dismissed takes into account their best 20 years. Thus if an employee is paid £600 per week and works from the age of 30-62 before being made redundant, he will be entitled to a redundancy payment of: £380 x 1.5 x 20 = £11,400.

After February 1, he would be entitled to a redundancy payment of: £400 x 1.5 x 20 = £12,000.

Where an individual successfully establishes unfair dismissal, they will also be entitled to a compensatory award.

The amount of this award is determined by the employment tribunal, and is currently subject to a maximum award of £65,300; however, this is raised to £68,400 on February 1.

First published at 15:24, Thursday, 03 February 2011
Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk