Regular Voluntary Overtime Included in Holiday Pay

Towards the end of last year, we discussed in an article how holiday pay must now include results based commission.

The ruling in the Court of Appeal followed a case involving a British gas sales person who had claimed his holiday pay had been incorrectly calculated as it did not include any allowance for the commission he would have earned during the period he was on holiday. We discussed at the time how the decision made by the Court was set to have serious consequences for any business with employees on commission schemes.

Further to this and no doubt of even further concern to business owners, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has recently confirmed that payments for overtime undertaken on a purely voluntary basis should be included in holiday pay, providing they are paid regularly enough to constitute ‘normal pay’.

The Case of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willetts

The ruling came about following the conclusion of the case of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willetts and others in which 56 council workers brought employment tribunal claims for unlawful deductions from wages in connection with how their holiday pay was calculated.

The council workers claimed that their holiday pay should have included payments for voluntary overtime. The Tribunal concluded that the workers’ voluntary overtime payments were sufficiently regular to constitute ‘normal pay’, which, according to vast volumes of past case law, must be included in holiday pay.

All Cases Must be Judged on an Individual Basis

The EAT said that where a pattern of work extends for a sufficient period of time and recurs regularly, it should be classed as ‘normal’. However, the EAT did issue a warning that cases do vary and that it is down to the individual Employment Tribunal to decide whether or not overtime payments are adequately ‘regular and settled’ so as to be included in the holiday pay.

This recent decision provides further clarification on a one of the most discussed subjects in employment law.

If you are unsure as to whether your methods of calculating holiday pay fall in line with the latest rulings and case law, seek advice from your local bookkeepers.

GDPR to Become Law Next Month

A new Data Protection Bill is due to be published in September 2017, bringing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into UK law.

Under GDPR, individuals will be awarded a new right to request that their personal data is completely erased. UK law will extend this right by requiring social media providers to delete all of a personal’s posts from before they were under 18, if requested.

Support will be provided to businesses to make sure they are in a position to manage and secure their data correctly. The Information Commissioner will also be given greater powers to defend consumer interests and will be able to levy increased fines of up to £17 million, or 4 per cent of global turnover for the most serious data related breaches.

Changes in Favour of the Consumer

 The new Data Protection Bill will allow people to enjoy more control over their data. They will get a greater say in what it is used for as it will be easier to withdraw consent for its use. Parents and guardians will be responsible for giving consent for their children’s data to be used, and ‘explicit’ consent will be necessary in order to process sensitive personal data. This means opting in rather than opting out, which should lead to consumers receiving less cold calls.

Furthermore, the definition of ‘personal data’ will be expanded to cover DNA, IP addresses and internet cookies. The Bill will make it easier and free for individuals to require an organisation to disclose any personal data held on them, and it will be more straightforward for customers to migrate their data from one service provider to another.

Strengthening the Law to Reflect Today’s Digital Economy

Many of the changes being introduced are based around the aim of strengthening the law to reflect today’s digital economy. With the introduction of the Bill, it will be a criminal offence for an organisation to recklessly or intentionally allow someone to be identified from the use of data that has been anonymised, in other words, data that has been adjusted in such a way that the holder should not be able to be identified. In addition, criminal charges could be faced by organisations found tampering with data that an individual has requested.

Challenging Changes?

Some of these new requirements may lead to challenges for businesses, particularly those that do not have their data stored digitally, making it more difficult to sort it. Many experts have warned that numerous businesses are by no means prepared for the new rules.

The extent of the new legislation is also presently unclear. There is talk of some exemptions depending on the type of data in question, but nothing has yet been confirmed.

As soon as more details come to light, we will share them. Follow us on Twitter and check back to this news feed to stay up to date.

New Rules on PSC Registers

As of April 2016, most UK limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) have been required to hold and maintain a register of people with significant control. The PSC Register as it is known must be filed with Companies House on incorporation and as part of a company’s annual confirmation statement as of June 2016.

With the regime only still fairly new, it has come as something of a surprise to the business world that changes have already been introduced as of 26^th June 2017.

EU Fourth Money Laundering Directive

These changes have come about as part of the EU Fourth Money Laundering Directive (MLD4) covering anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing measures. Whilst the UK is still part of the UK, the laws will apply.

Companies House has decided that the accuracy and completeness of current PSC data needs to be improved. Companies will therefore now be required to report any changes to their PSC information in real time as they happen, rather than wait until the annual confirmation statement is submitted.

The changes dictate that where there is a change to the information, companies will now have a 14-day timescale during which they must update their PSC register, plus a further 14 days in which to notify Companies House. The forms to be used are PSC01 (give notice of individual person with significant control) and PSC09 (give notice of update to PSC statements.

Support Available from Companies House

Companies House has issued a statement saying that for those companies requiring additional support in understanding the PSC regime, there will be individual assistance, particularly for those known to have submitted incorrect PSC information. Further guidance will be issued by Companies House, as well as a ‘report it now’ link being added to its website.

The Regulations governing these changes are yet to be released, but are expected very soon. Guidance notes are also awaited and we will share these as soon as they emerge. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and regularly check back to our news feed to keep up to date.