This year is set to be as busy as any other in terms of employment law developments in the UK. Here, we round up the ABC of forthcoming legal and other developments potentially affecting IT departments – and much more besides.
Apprenticeship Levy
For employers that have an annual wage bill of more than £3 million, a new 0.5 per cent levy will be payable from April 2017. These additional funds are intended to be used by the government to contribute to the costs of apprenticeship training. Employers can claim back the levy they have paid if they use it for training apprentices. There will even be some government top-ups available, too – an additional ten pence paid by the government for every £1 paid by the employer. If you are hit by the new levy, which some consider to be a form of taxation, consider whether apprentices can be used in your business so that you can recoup some of this additional cost.
Brexit
At some point in the future the UK looks likely to leave the European Union. How, when and what effect this will have on employment law remains to be seen, but with Article 50 likely to be called before the end of March it is an area that all employers will need to keep an eye on. Radical reforms early on seem unlikely, but there could be some tinkering around the edges, especially in view of some unpopular European case law decisions.
Corporate directors
At the moment, a director of a company can be another company. However, there are plans to change this so that only individuals can be named as a board director. This change was expected to be brought in during October 2016, and while it did not happen them we expect it to be imminently brought in. Companies will want to check their corporate structures to ensure they do not need to make any new appointments as a result of this expected change.
Employment status in the ‘gig’ economy
Following the high-profile case involving Uber drivers, some individuals previously considered “self-employed” will now have to be re-categorised as “workers”.
