Should Voluntary Overtime Be Included In Holiday Pay

The issue of how to calculate holiday pay has rarely been out of the news in the last few years with a steady stream of case law on the topic.  This time we turn our attention to an issue on which there has been little guidance: voluntary overtime. Gillian Reid, employment law specialist at Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby & Malton , advises on whether you should include voluntary overtime in your holiday pay calculations. Compulsory overtime In Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton 2014 the Employment Appeals Tribunal decided that employers have to take into account compulsory non-guaranteed overtime payments when calculating holiday pay in respect of the four weeks' annual leave given by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR).  So, if you do not guarantee overtime but your employee must work it if…

Winter Is Coming What Lies Ahead

What do the last few months of the year have in store for investors? 2017 has so far been interesting, to say the least. We have all become much better at expecting the unexpected; experience has certainly taught us that. Many investors are getting used to a variety of political, financial and economic factors and hopefully learning to look through the 'noise' to focus on what really matters. What we do know is that market volatility will continue and areas of value exist, which makes asset allocation a key tool when planning your portfolio. A HEALTHY INVESTOR APPETITE Investors started the year confidently as the 'Trump reflation rally' continued from the tail end of 2016. Although fading a little more recently, global equity markets hit all-time highs in the summer with over $10 trillion added…

A Game Of Endurance As Disposable Incomes Hit Six Year Low

The average household in Britain is currently enduring the lengthiest dip in disposable income for six years. Cash-strapped consumers are struggling with the combination of lacklustre growth in their wages, which is providing modest support to disposable incomes, and inflation, which is taking its toll on the pound in their pocket as the cost of everyday items increase. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed real household disposable income fell by 1.1% per head in the second quarter of 2017, meaning disposable incomes have declined for four consecutive quarters, marking the longest period of negative growth since the tail end of 2011. The data from the ONS coincides with a study1 disclosing that for the first time in two years, households said they thought their personal financial situation had deteriorated. This perception will…

Autumn Employment Law Round Up

Gillian Reid, employment law specialist at Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby & Malton, provides a round-up of the main employment law changes that have recently come into effect, including those taking place from autumn 2017, and explains the action you need to take as a result. Employment tribunal fees scrapped Unison won a landmark court case against the government in July 2017 when the Supreme Court found that the government acted unlawfully when it introduced employment tribunal fees in July 2013. The decision of the court means that, from July 2017: those eligible to bring an employment tribunal claim (or appeal) will no longer have to pay a fee to do so; and the government will have to refund over £27 million to those charged a fee for submitting a claim to the…