11/06/2019

I have been advising on employment law for over seven years and it’s safe to say the maths calculations involved don’t get any easier.

Whether you employ five people or 500 you’ll know that employee basic rights often boil down to numbers.

Here are a few examples that are worth having to hand:

  • Entitlement to maternity pay – An employee is entitled to statutory maternity pay if they earn at least £118 a week on average and have completed 26 weeks’ service before the 15th week before the baby is due.
  • Maternity leave – If you have worked for a company for just one day, you are eligible for maternity leave. An employee can take up to 52 weeks’ leave, which consists of 39 weeks ordinary maternity leave and 13 weeks additional (unpaid).
  • Entitlement to paternity leave – To be eligible for either one or two consecutive weeks’ paid paternity leave an employee must have worked for their employer for 26 continuous weeks ending with the week immediately prior to the 14th week before the birth. Leave cannot start before the birth of the baby and must end within 56 days of the birth (or due date if the birth is early).Entitlement to paternity pay – To be eligible for paternity pay an employee must have been employed for at least 26 weeks ending on the 15th week before the birth.
  • Entitlement to parental leave – Parental leave is unpaid. An employee must have 12 months’ service to be eligible for up to 18 weeks of parental leave for each child up to their 18th birthday. Parental leave is limited to four weeks per year for each child and must be taken in one-week blocks (except for children with disabilities). The entitlement is per child, not per employer so an employee cannot change employer and request leave for 18 weeks.
  • Time limits – For claims against an employer there is generally a three-month time limit but for redundancy pay, it is six months from the date of dismissal/termination, which is known as the effective date of termination (EDT).
  • Early conciliation – You must start early conciliation within three months of the date of the incident or issue that you are complaining about. This stops the clock on the time limit to lodge a claim and extends it for the number of days spent conciliating.

The ever-changing numbers and calculations can be mind-boggling when dealing with employment issues, but it goes without saying that it is vital that you get your sums right.

For advice on any employment law issue, email me at laura.franklin@beswicks.com or phone 01782 205000.