Will you have to give extra time off to your staff for the royal wedding?

Entitlement to an additional day’s holiday will depend entirely on the wording of your employment contracts. Employees do not have an automatic right to paid time off on bank holidays unless their contract of employment allows them to.

The statutory minimum annual holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks (28 days) which may include the normal 8 bank holidays. So, if your employment contract states that the annual leave entitlement is a certain number of days plus bank holidays, then your employee will be entitled to the additional day off.

However, if the contract states that the entitlement is to a certain number of days, and does not mention bank holidays then there is no entitlement to an additional day’s leave. Neither will there be an entitlement if it is expressed as a certain number of days “plus eight bank holidays”, or if the contract specifies which bank holidays are included. Therefore, if your employee wishes to take the extra bank holiday off then it would be deducted from their normal holiday entitlement.

Of course, regardless of the contractual entitlement to paid time off on the additional bank holiday, employers may want to consider granting the holiday as a goodwill gesture particularly if there is inconsistent contractual wording resulting in some employees entitled to the extra day and some not.

New tribunal award limits effective from 1st February

New tribunal award limits come into force which increase the limits of certain employment tribunal awards and other amounts payable under employment legislation. The maximum unfair dismissal compensatory award rises from £65,300 to £68,400 and the maximum amount of a week's pay for the purpose of calculating a statutory redundancy payment and the basic and additional awards for unfair dismissal increases from £380 to £400.

It is therefore vitally important that you protect your business against the costs of going to an Employment Tribunal. Not only does a successful unfair dismissal claim hit your pockets financially with award settlements and legal costs but it also costs you management time in preparing for and defending a claim and also may cost you the reputation of the Company.

There are many simple steps you can take to help reduce or eliminate ex employees from being successful in making a claim against you. Aside from having a fair reason to dismiss an employee, you must be able to demonstrate that fair procedures were followed with any discipline or grievance issue. Employment Tribunals will judge

the fairness of a dismissal against the standards set out in the ACAS Code of Practice – Discipline and Grievance. Different types of evidence will also support your case in defending a claim and it is therefore vitally important that records are kept, not only to assist with helping you achieve a fair and accurate decision but these records will provide proof that the evidence is reliable and factual.

Documents such as terms and conditions of employment, minutes of meetings, witness statements and copies of letters confirming disciplinary action or performance plans can help with this. Training your managers in these simple steps not only can save you time and money in the long term but also help promote your business as a fair and

reputable employer.