Here is a brief summary of some of the key employment law changes to look out for this year.
1 April 2018 – the national minimum wage increases.
From 1 April 2018, all workers aged 25 and over are legally entitled to at least £7.83 per hour.
Full minimum wage rates from 1 April 2018:
| 25 and over | 21 to 24 | 18 to 20 | Under 18 | Apprentice |
| £7.83 | £7.38 | £5.90 | £4.20 | £3.70 |
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the minimum pay per hour most workers under the age of 25 are entitled to by law.
4 April 2018 – gender pay gap reporting.
The regulations require employers in the private and voluntary-sector with at least 250 employees to publish gender pay information by 4th April 2018. Similarly, specified public-sector employers with 250 or more employees are required to publish their first gender pay gap reports by 30 March 2018.
The information to be published includes the difference between the mean and median hourly rates of pay and bonus for male and female employees.
Employers must post their reports on their own website and on a Government website.
25 May 2018 – the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will make changes to the current data protection rules. Organisations will be conducting data audits and policy reviews in the lead up to May to ensure that their data protection practices are GDPR compliant. It will apply to any organisation which controls or processes personal data. The changes, in summary, are as follows:
- Many employers will need to issue new or updated privacy notices to employees and job applicants, outlining what data they collect and how the data is used.
- Individuals will have a right to request that their data is erased, if there is no need for the organisation processing it to continue to do so. This is known as the ‘right to be forgotten’.
- There will be tighter rules for obtaining consent from individuals before processing their data.
- The maximum fines which can be imposed on organisations for breaching data protection will increase significantly.
For more details on the topic click here for our blog.
Date to be confirmed – shared parental leave to be extended to grandparents.
Shared parental leave is to be extended to allow grandparents to take time off work to care for their grandchildren. The new system will allow a mother to share her maternity leave with a nominated working grandparent.
For all employment law related advice, contact our specialist team on 01792 468684 or email enquiries@pgmsolicitors.co.uk.
