Changes in statutory payments and awards
The government has announced an increase in the maximum weekly wage for calculating redundancy payments, in the amounts that can be awarded by an employment tribunal where an employee is unfairly dismissed and also in various statutory payments.
When calculating a statutory redundancy payment or the amount that a worker is entitled to as their basic award for unfair dismissal, there is a set formula based upon an employee’s length of service and weekly wage. The weekly wage is capped at £380 however this will be increasing to £400 for dismissals on or after 1st February 2011. The maximum amount a tribunal can award as compensation for loss caused by an unfair dismissal will also be increasing from £65,300 to £68,400. The compensation that can be awarded in an employment tribunal for breach of contract will remain at £25,000 and compensation for discrimination is still unlimited.
It has also been announced that from April 2011 the rate of statutory maternity and paternity pay will increase from £124.88 to £128.73 per week and the rate of statutory sick pay will increase from £79.15 to £81.60 per week.
It is advisable to ensure that these rates are updated on any internal paperwork or systems to avoid a situation of an employee or worker receiving inaccurate amounts.
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.