The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
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Over recent years, many low paid workers have felt the benefit of the UK’s ambitious minimum wage policy, alongside the huge take-up of the real Living Wage by employers.
The Low Pay Commission’s remit is set to be reviewed in 2024 as the National Living Wage reaches two -thirds of median income - which it is currently on course to do. It has been argued elsewhere that its remit should expand to cover labour standards aside from the minimum wage, and to include the amount of notice workers get for shifts. We welcome this focus on work quality, alongside a strong wage floor, particularly given the absence of legislation around minimum standards with regards to work security. However, employers do not need to wait to provide security for their employees – the Living Hours standard provides an effective and practical approach to alleviating insecure work which almost 100 employers throughout the UK have already adopted. We will continue to work with employers to adopt the Living Hours standard, alongside a real Living Wage, to ensure that workers throughout the UK are able to meet basic living costs, which during a cost-of-living-crisis, has never been more important.’’
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New study: the potential for low earners to save through automatic- enrolment
Published: 8 August 2023 Emailed: 9 August 2023
The Pensions And Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has released the new report ‘ Uncovering the profile of low earners in the UK and the potential for pension saving through automatic enrolment ’ . The study suggests that there is potential for almost 3 million low earners currently excluded from the UK workplace pension savings system, to be safely automatically enrolled in a workplace pension. PLSA commissioned the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) to examine the profiles of employees earning less than £10,000 – the threshold above which employees currently need to earn to be enrolled into their employer’s workplace pension scheme. Investigating whether automatic-enrolment (AE) could provide a way of improving retirement outcomes. The research reveals the profiles of low earners who earn less than £10,000 and explores the potential merits of integrating this population into pension saving through the mechanism of AE. PLSA states that all factors need to be considered in the design of policies aimed at improving retirement outcomes.
Below are some of the key findings from the study:
• the research indicates that eliminating the AE trigger for individuals earning less than £10,000 has the potential to improve retirement outcomes by 7 to 13% for nearly 3 million people • before the policy can be recommended, further consideration must be given to the group of lower earners at risk of over-saving to ensure they can afford to save more. PLSA has stated that further research on low earners, the needs of under-pensioned workers generally, and crossover of different characteristics is needed before a final decision could be made on whether to amend the current £10,000 earnings threshold.
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Acas: updated guidance on sickness absence Published: 8 August 2023 Emailed: 9 August 2023
Handling staff absence can be tricky for any business, especially if you are just starting out. Acas has now published updated guidance on sickness absence.
Acas advice gives both employers and employees support on how to manage and record staff absence while they are off work and, on their return to work. The guidance specialises in helping small business owners and employers with various types of absence such as long-term sickness, maternal/paternal leave, annual leave and more.
cipp.org.uk
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