Welcome to Employment Edit, our pick of the key employment law developments from the last couple of weeks:
- Termination payments – The current £30,000 exemption may be subject to change as the government has begun consultation on simplifying the tax and NICs treatment of termination payments. The proposal is to remove the distinction between contractual and non-contractual payments and to introduce a new exemption from income tax and NICs on termination payments. One possibility is that this exemption may increase proportionately according to years of service, with entitlement arising only after two years' service and increasing by a set rate after every additional year's service, up to a maximum amount.
- Reporting – The Modern Slavery and Supply Chains Government Response has now been published. This sets out more detail of the new duty for commercial organisations carrying on business in the UK with a total turnover of £36m or more, to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year. It is intended this duty will be brought into force in October 2015, subject to transitional provisions.
- Indirect discrimination – The ECJ has decided that a person who suffers alongside a protected group may claim indirect discrimination even though they do not possess the protected characteristic which has given rise to the discriminatory practice in question. This would appear to be inconsistent with the Equality Act 2010 but the decision may make it harder for employers to identify those who may bring a claim arising out of a potentially indirectly discriminatory provision, criterion or practice (PCP). CHEZ Razpredelenie Bulgaria C-83/14.
- Immigration - The Migration Advisory Committee is carrying out a Review of Tier 2 immigration routes with a view to reducing economic migration into the UK. We are considering responding to the Call for Evidence and please let us know if you would like to share your views with us before we do so.
If you would like more information, or specific advice, please contact Roger Bull, or get in touch with your usual Burges Salmon contact.