Employment law timeline 2019-2020
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1 January 2019
Employee engagement and pay ratio reporting
UK listed companies with over 250 UK employees to report annually on stakeholder and employee engagement and CEO/average worker pay ratio for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019.
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21 January 2019
Opening of EU Settlement Scheme
Opening of EU Settlement Scheme to accept applications from EU citizens and their family members to remain in the UK after Brexit.
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29 March 2019
Brexit
The UK to leave the EU.
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30 March 2019
Gender pay gap reporting for public sector employers
Public sector employers to report before this date (with a snapshot date of 31 March 2018).
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1 April 2019
National Living Wage
National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and over will increase to £8.21 per hour. The national minimum wage (NMW) rates to increase:
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- from £7.38 to £7.70 for 21 to 24 year olds
- from £5.90 to £6.15 for 18 to 20 year olds
- from £4.20 to £4.35 for 16 and 17 year olds
- from £3.70 to £3.90 for apprentices.
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4 April 2019
Gender pay gap reporting for private sector employers
Private sector employers to report before this date (with a snapshot date of 5 April 2018).
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6 April 2019
Itemised payslips
Employers must provide all workers with an itemised payslip and state the number of hours being paid on the payslip, where wages vary according to time worked.
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6 April 2019
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
SSP to increase to £94.25.
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6 April 2019
Penalties for breaches of employment law
Good Work Plan – secifically the increase in penalties for aggravated breach of employment law from £5K to £20K as set out in the Employment Rights (Miscellaneius Amendments) Regulations 2019
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7 April 2019
New statutory rates
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) to increase to £148.68.
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April 2019
Apprenticeship levy
Employers may transfer up to 25 per cent of their apprenticeship levy to support apprentices in their supply chain.
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9 December 2019
Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR)
SMCR comes into force for all FCA-regulated firms.
Maximum guarantee payments:
From 6 April 2018: £28 a day (maximum £140, five days in any three-month period)
From 6 April 2019: £29 a day (maximum £145, five days in any three-month period)
Maximum week's pay for calculating redundancy and unfair dismissal basic award:
From 6 April 2018: £508
From 6 April 2019: £525
Maximum basic award for unfair dismissal and statutory redundancy payment:
From 6 April 2018: £15,240 (30 weeks' pay subject to the limit on a week's pay)
From 6 April 2019: £15,750 (30 weeks' pay subject to the limit on a week's pay)
Minimum basic award for dismissal on trade union, health and safety, occupational pension scheme trustee, employee representative and on working time grounds only:
From 6 April 2018: £6,203
From 6 April 2019: £6,408
Maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal (unlimited for certain automatically unfair dismissals, for example, health and safety or whistleblowing):
From 6 April 2018: £83,682
From 6 April 2019: £86,444
Additional award for failure to comply with reinstatement or re-engagement order:
From 6 April 2018: £13,208 - £26,416 (26-52 weeks' pay maximum)
From 6 April 2019: £13,650 - £27,300 (26-52 weeks' pay maximum)
Minimum compensation for employees excluded/expelled from trade union:
From 6 April 2018: £9,474
From 6 April 2019: £9,787
Failure to allow right to be accompanied correctly:
From 6 April 2018: £1,016 (two weeks' pay capped at the statutory amount)
From 6 April 2019: £1,050 (two weeks' pay capped at the statutory amount)
Failure to give written statement of particulars:
From 6 April 2018: £1,016 or £2,032 (two or four weeks' pay capped at the statutory amount)
From 6 April 2019: £1,050 or £2,100 (two or four weeks' pay capped at the statutory amount)
Flexible working regulations:
From 6 April 2018: £4,064 (eight weeks' pay capped at the statutory amount)
From 6 April 2019: £4,200 (eight weeks’ pay capped at the statutory amount)
For more details, see The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2019 (pdf
Statutory maternity pay (SMP):
First six weeks – 90 per cent of employee’s average weekly earnings. Remaining weeks at the following rates.
From 1 April 2018: £145.18 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.
From 7 April 2019: £148.68 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.
Statutory adoption pay (SAP):
First six weeks – 90 per cent of employee’s average weekly earnings. Remaining weeks at the following rates.
From 1 April 2018: £145.18 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.
From 7 April 2019: £148.68 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.
Statutory paternity pay (SPP):
Paid for two weeks.
From 1 April 2018: £145.18 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.
From 7 April 2019: £148.68 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.
Statutory shared parental leave pay:
From 1 April 2018: £145.18 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.
From 7 April 2019: £148.68 or 90 per cent of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower
SSP:
From 6 April 2018: £92.05
From 6 April 2019: £94.25
From 1 April 2018:
Workers aged 25 and over: £7.83 an hour (National Living Wage)
Workers aged 21-24: £7.38 an hour
Development rate for workers aged 18-20: £5.90 an hour
Young workers rate for workers aged 16-17: £4.20 an hour
Apprentice rate: £3.70 an hour
More information on the NMW and its calculation is available on the GOV.UK website.
From 1 April 2019:
Workers aged 25 and over: £8.21 an hour (National Living Wage)
Workers aged 21-24: £7.70 an hour
Development rate for workers aged 18-20: £6.15 an hour
Young workers rate for workers aged 16-17: £4.35 an hour
Apprentice rate: £3.90 an hour
The new rates were announced in the Budget 2018 and follow the Low Pay Commission's recommendations