UK Employment Legislation 2021 | What is in Store for 2021?
Here is a round-up of UK employment legislation 2021 developments.
New Immigration Law Enforced
Effective 1st January 2021
From the 1st January 2021, arrangements under the new immigration system take effect. They now apply equally to EU and non-EU citizens. Click here for further details.
National Living Wage and National Living Wage Increase
Effective 1st April 2021
The National Living Wage (NLW) rises to £8.91. This is inline with the Chancellor’s autumn statement on 25th November 2020. The age at which workers become entitled to the NLW also drops by two years to 23.
Extension of IR35 to the Private Sector
Effective 6th April 2021
The IR35 rules prevent contractors working through Personal Service Companies (PCS). IR35 rules are to prevent contractors performing similar roles to permanent employees, but paying less tax and NICs. In 2000, contractors themselves assessed whether IR35 applied to them. In April 2017, it switched to the employer’s responsibility in the public sector. Those organisations became liable for deducting the right amount of tax and NICs from fees paid to the contractors’ PSCs.
From 6 April 2021, this responsibility applies to all private sector employers that in a tax year have:
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more than 50 employees
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an annual turnover over £10.2 million
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a balance sheet worth over £5.1 million.
The extension of the rules to the private sector was due to take effect from 6th April 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis.
New guidance from HMRC:
Extending Pregnancy Protection from Redundancy
Date TBC
An employee that is on maternity leave, adoption or shared parent leave now has new rights in threatened with redundancy. These employees now have the right to an offer of a suitable alternative vacancy if possible.
The government is proposing to extend this protection to:
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Pregnant employees when they have told their employers
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employees returning from maternity or adoption leave within the previous six months
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parents returning from shared parental leave.
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