UK Employment Hub 

With the UK leaving the EU on 29 March 2019, the EU Settlement Scheme provides the basis for resident EU citizens and their family members to obtain the immigration status they will need to remain in the UK. It is anticipated that EU citizens and their family members who are resident in the UK or who move to the UK before 31 December 2020 will have to submit an application by 30 June 2021. Under the scheme, applicants may be granted either settled status if they have been in the UK for five years (indefinite leave to remain) or pre-settled status (limited leave to remain) if they have not reached the five-year mark at the time of making their application.

Phase 1 of the EU Settlement Scheme trial

The Home Office conducted an initial phase testing from 28 August to 17 October, in which EU nationals from 12 NHS trusts in the north-west of England, as well as students and staff from three Liverpool universities, were invited to apply for residence documentation via the EU Settlement Scheme.

1,053 applications were received. From those, 924 decisions were made and sent out to applicants by 30 October. Based on automated checks made against HMRC data, 85 per cent of those 924 applicants did not have to provide additional evidence. The other 15 per cent had to provide additional evidence to demonstrate their residence.

Phase 2 and next steps

The second phase of private testing will commence on 1 November 2018, and will cover a much wider group of potential applicants, including those with more complex cases who may not have a complete set of government data. From 15 November students and staff at UK universities will be able to apply, and from 29 November the testing pool widens again with inclusion of workers in health and social care.

Implications for employers

With the success of Phase 1 and the announcement of Phase 2, employers should ensure their employees have access to the most up-to-date information, and understand the key elements of the EU Settlement Scheme.

Thousands of Google staff (employees and contractors) across 50 locations walked out of their jobs on Thursday 1 November in protest at the company’s response to claims of sexual harassment and gender inequality. The demonstrations took place at the company’s offices around the world, beginning at 11.10am in Tokyo before rolling out across Europe and North America, finishing at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

The walkout came after it emerged that Google reportedly gave Andy Rubin, a former executive, a US$90 million severance package after he left the company, despite the “credible” sexual misconduct allegations against him. It has also been reported that Andy Rubin is among a number of Google executives who have had allegations of sexual misconduct made against them.

One of the protest organisers summed up the company’s action as “the US$90 million straw that broke the camel’s back”. In the wake of the #metoo movement, recent sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump and, more recently, Sir Phillip Green, such a statement resonates with all and is no longer falling on deaf ears. Employees are now finding the courage to speak up on what appears to be a hidden issue in many workplaces.

As such, we recommend employers listen to, and do not ignore or take lightly, allegations of sexual harassment or misconduct. Employers should ensure they have sexual harassment policies in place with clear details of what constitutes sexual harassment and details of the process for reporting it safely and anonymously. This should be coupled with training to ensure all staff understand what constitutes unacceptable behaviour in the workplace. Employers must do all they can to ensure employees are kept safe and must enable employees to speak up on the issue without fear of retaliation.

In the 2016 Budget, the government announced that termination payments over £30,000 would be subject to employer Class1A national insurance contributions (NICs) from April 2018. Termination payments over the tax-exempt threshold of £30,000 are currently only subject to income tax. In the 2017 Budget, the government announced that this change would be delayed for a year and take effect from April 2019.

However, in the Autumn 2018 Budget earlier this week, the government announced that this change will be further delayed. Subject to any further postponements, employer NICs on termination payments over the £30,000 threshold will now become payable in April 2020.

Whilst most termination payments fall below £30,000, for employers this announcement will come as a welcome, albeit temporary, reprieve from additional costs in those cases where the tax-exempt threshold is exceeded.

The latest announcement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that they are expecting their first child and the recent return of the Duchess of Cambridge from her maternity break demonstrate that the Royal Family, similarly to other British parents, is not a stranger to tackling a wide range of parental responsibilities along with their official duties.

This prompted us to set out the main entitlements in relation to family leave and pay available to working parents under the UK laws.

Provided that the employee meets specific eligibility criteria, they have the right to the following:

• Statutory Maternity Leave (SML): Women can take up to 52 weeks of SML. It is made up of Ordinary Maternity Leave (the first 26 weeks) and Additional Maternity Leave (weeks 27 to 52). SML is not compulsory apart from the first two weeks after the baby is born (or four weeks if the woman works in a factory). Whilst on SML women can claim:
  • Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP): It is paid for up to 39 weeks and is 90 per cent of the employee’s average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first six weeks followed by the lower of £145.18 or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings for the next 33 weeks.
  • Maternity Allowance: It is payable by the government and applies to those employees who do not qualify for SMP.
  • Company enhanced maternity pay: Many employers voluntarily offer more generous maternity pay arrangements which eligible employees can claim.

Women adopting a child or having a child through surrogacy are not entitled to SML but can get Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay instead.

• Shared Parental Leave (ShPL): This enables parents having a baby or adopting a child to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay. ShPL is paid at the lower rate of SMP (i.e.£145.18 a week or 90 per cent of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower).
• Paternity Leave and Pay: Paternity Leave is a period of either one or two consecutive weeks that fathers (or partners) can take off from work to care for their baby or child. The statutory weekly rate of Paternity Pay is £145.18 or 90 per cent of the employee’s average weekly earnings (whichever is lower).
• Parental leave: This is unpaid. It can be taken for up to 18 weeks to look after a child up to their 18th birthday. Unless agreed otherwise with the employer it can only be taken up to four weeks for each child in a year.
• Time off for dependants: Employees are allowed time off to deal with emergency situations (e.g. a hospital appointment) involving a dependant. A dependant could be a spouse, partner, child, grandchild, parent, or someone who depends on the employee for care. It is unpaid unless the employer agrees otherwise. There is no set amount of time that can be requested by the employee to deal with emergency situations although it should to be exercised in a reasonable manner, which usually equates to one or two days.
• Flexible working: Employees who have 26 weeks’ continuous employment are entitled to make a request for flexible working. Flexible working can include a wide range of options, such as reduction of hours, job-sharing, working from home, working compressed hours, flexitime or term-time working.

Many employers recognise that the statutory entitlements are no longer sufficient in many sectors to attract a skilled and qualified workforce. In the circumstances they are prepared to offer their employees a wide range of family-friendly benefits, enhanced levels of family leave and pay, as well as flexibility in their working arrangements. No matter what option the employer chooses, it is important that they have clear family policies in place outlining the relevant process and eligibility criteria and that those policies are applied consistently across the organisation.