Member Article

Businesses warned about European law changes amid Brexit

Businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire are being urged to check that they fall in line with new employment legislation being introduced this year.

As of April, a series of changes are being made to address issues surrounding the gender pay gap, apprenticeships and tax benefits, some of which are passed down from the European Courts.

Mark Ridley, employment law expert at Band Hatton Button, is urging business owners to forget about any implications of Brexit when it comes to employment law for the time being.

He said: “While European law is behind some of the upcoming legislation or court rulings, it cannot be ignored on the basis that we are starting the process of withdrawing from the European Union, whatever style of Brexit is adopted by the Government. For now, everything stands.”

Key law changes that business owners need to be aware of include:

Gender pay gap reporting – Regulations from the Equality Act 2010 come into force on April 6, 2017, meaning all private sector organisations with at least 250 employees must publish details of their gender pay gap, for both basic pay and any bonuses. The deadline to submit this is April 4, 2018.

Apprentice levy – If your business has an annual wage bill exceeding £3 million, you’ll be required to pay 0.5% tax of the total wage bill to contribute towards the funding of apprenticeships for businesses below the £3 million threshold. Deadline for the first payment is April 6, 2017.

Salary sacrifice scheme – As of April 6, 2017, any tax saving benefits for salary sacrifice schemes including cars, accommodation or similar will now be taxed as cash income. Any arrangements in place before April 6, 2017 will be protected for one year, or four years in the case of cars, accommodation or school fees.

Tax-free childcare – The traditional employer-supported childcare voucher scheme, which is full of tax savings, is to close in April 2018 in favour of an alternative system where working families can claim 20 per cent of child care costs for children under 12, capped at £2,000 a year.

Mark added: “Employment law continues to pose challenges for business, and the year ahead is certainly no exception.

“It’s important to get ahead of the deadlines and make sure you’re addressing the changes across all aspects of the business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .