Where 20 or more employees are made redundant from an establishment within a period of 90 days, further information and consultation obligations will apply, involving union and/or elected representatives. Employees with two years’ continuous employment or more have a right to a statutory redundancy payment, which is calculated by: • Gross weekly wage (up to a current threshold of GBP 475 (about USD 680) per week) • Length of service • A multiplier based on age Additional redundancy payments may be due under the employment contract (including where there is a collective agreement with unions) or made at the employer’s discretion. Training/apprentices From April 2017 larger employers (with a GBP 3 million a year pay bill) will have to pay an Apprenticeships Levy of 0.5% of their annual pay bill. (The Office for Budgetary Responsibility believes that the cost of the increase will be effectively passed on to employees via smaller pay increases.) There are various initiatives to increase the number of apprenticeships. In the construction sector, there are two statutory based levies to fund training for all workers – the Construction Industry Training Board and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board. It is unclear what impact the levy will have on the legacy bodies.
Discrimination/equality Workers and job applicants enjoy rights to protect them from discrimination. Protected characteristics include age, sex, race, religious/philosophical belief, and maternity/pregnancy. Other special protections apply to (eg trade union activities and whistle blowers). Compensation in these areas is unlimited, in addition to reputational considerations. Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) Where, on a transfer of a business or a contract, existing services (eg facilities services) under a project are to be taken over by a new provider (including the client taking services “in house”) employees dedicated to providing those services automatically transfer to the other organisation, under the provisions of TUPE. The case law in this sphere is complex and it is often difficult to ascertain when TUPE will apply in an outsourcing context. There are information and consultation obligations (with unions and/or representatives), and protections concerning changes to terms of employment and dismissals by reason of the transfer.
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