Sarah is a recognised expert on discrimination law. She will be providing this online lunchtime training, ideal for interested individuals, managers, senior leaders and HR professionals of all levels. Go to https://www.people-complete.com/InclusiveSpacesWebinar to book a place.
Sarah Russell of Fox Whitfield can help.
Are you exiting BT under the Early Leaver Scheme? Sarah has helped numerous BT employees.
Whether you are leaving genuinely voluntarily, or feel that you have been backed into a corner where taking redundancy is the only real option, Sarah can assist. She knows the BT settlement agreement well and knows which clauses they are likely to be prepared to negotiate on and which they are not. She provides prompt, practical advice.
Please contact Sarah on 07985 106 233 or sarahr@foxwhitfield.com.
Sarah Russell (http://www.foxwhitfield.com/team/sarah-russell/) has today been on the BBC News and BBC World talking about the gender pay gap.
Several large companies have recently released their gender pay information, ahead of the compulsory deadline for the public and private sector in April. Easyjet, Ladbrokes and Phase 8 all showed significant gender pay disparities. Many companies attributed the difference to the fact that they have more men at a senior level, and more women in less senior, customer service-type roles.
In Sarah’s experience the situation is considerably more complex, with women at senior levels typically being paid less than male colleagues. Women actually now out-earn men on average in their twenties, but unfortunately the gap develops in a woman’s late 30s. It is often connected to maternity, part-time worker and/or age discrimination.
If you have concerns about these issues, please contact Sarah by email or mobile for a free, no obligation discussion.
The Government has published a document on the “simplification of the tax and National Insurance treatment of termination payments”. That induces some draft legislation that will change the way that termination payments and settlement agreements are taxed and negotiated.
Currently employers may be able to pay notice payments tax free if there is no contractual right to pay in lieu of notice. Also employers can pay up to £30,000 tax free in some cases and higher payments are also exempt from employers National Insurance.
The new legislation, due to come into force in April 2018 will change this. What is proposed is that:
Employers will still be able to pay up to £30,000 tax free and without National Insurance.
Employers should take this opportunity to look at their current employment contracts and ensure that they have the best contractual protection. It is likely that if these new laws are brought into force that there will be no reason why all employers should not have contractual pay in lieu of notice clauses in their contracts. It is also essential that employers take fresh legal advice on any settlement agreements that they are using. Once the law changes in 2018 those will need important changes to ensure that they work properly. It is never a good idea to simply keep using an old settlement agreement as employment law does change so quickly.
In summary the law may be a little clearer on tax once the new legislation is in force. What is also clear is that this will cost may employers and some employees additional tax when terminating employment or settling employment tribunal claims.
Paul Whitfield is the Principal Solicitor at Fox Whitfield.
Fox Whitfield can advise HR, employers and employees on Settlement Agreements , disciplinary processes, procedures and unfair dismissal claims. We can also arrange meetings in the evenings or at weekends to work around your working hours.
0161 283 1276
Employment Law Solicitors – Head Office based in Manchester with offices located throughout the United Kingdom.
Sometimes it’s easy to become jaded with the law and the demands of work. Then once in a while a client reminds you that what you do really matters to them, the hard work made a difference and that they really appreciated what you did.
I recently settled a case for a client. He was an employee with a strong case. He had legal expenses cover but the advice he was getting from the insurance company lawyer wasn’t great. They told him it wasn’t worth doing anything and that they wouldn’t cover his costs.
I thought it was worth him doing something and he was willing to pay some fees himself. We issued his claim and it then quickly settled for more than twice the sum the insurance company thought it was worth. The client was very happy and offered to write me a testimonial.
What he wrote was this: –
“I was was referred to Paul Whitfield of Fox Whitfield by a friend. I wasn’t getting much support from the legal cover on my home insurance. Paul stepped in and won an out of court settlement on an unfair dismissal dispute. He handled the whole case and guided me through the process. Paul knows what he is doing, he is very professional and provides an outstanding service.”
The icing on the cake for my client was that I have now managed to get his insurance company to cover all of the costs they had initially refused. Money from employers is hard to get, but getting money from insurance companies is a whole new level of difficult!
My client is delighted and I am reminded why, sometimes, this is a great way to make a living.
Paul Whitfield is the Principal Solicitor at Fox Whitfield.
Fox Whitfield can advise HR, employers and employees on disciplinary processes, procedures and unfair dismissal claims. We can also arrange meetings in the evenings or at weekends to work around your working hours.
0161 283 1276
Employment Law Solicitors – Head Office based in Manchester with offices located throughout the United Kingdom.