Figures applicable 2012
Tribunal awards
The award for unfair dismissal comprises a basic award of up to £12,900 for dismissals taking place on 1st February 2012 on (previously £12,000): Plus a further award for lost earnings. The award for lost earnings is capped at £72,300 (formerly £68,400) and as a guide employers should work an award of 6 to 9 months pay.
The situation is complicated by additional awards for dismissal related to a range of matters. These might be union membership, health and safety, whistle-blowing, discrimination and so on. What employers have to be mindful of is that these other characteristics flow unexpectedly into the simplest of situations.
Awards are made up broadly as follows
| For events on and after 1st Feb 2012 – Award for | Minimum (In brackets are awards for events up to 31st January 2011) | Maximum |
| Unfair Dismissal | One week at £430 (£400) | £12,900 |
| Compensatory award | £72,300 | |
| Automatic Unfair Dismissal | Four weeks pay at £430 | £1,720 |
| Dismissal for reasons related to the exercise of some statutory rights | £5,300 | |
| Some cases include added injury to feeling awards; (Da’Bell v NSPCC) | £6,000 | £30,000 plus the above |
| Breach of contract 1 | Max in an ET | £25,000 |
| Refusal of right to be accompanied | 2 weeks | £860 |
| Failure to consider a flexible working request | 8 weeks | £3440 |
| Failure to consult on TUPE | 13 weeks | £5,200 |
| Failure to provide a written statutory statement | 4 weeks | £1,7200 |
1 High earners may bypass employment law and the ET system and go to the civil court where damages are not capped.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
£81.60 a week to 5th April 2012: £85.85 from 6th April
Guarantee payments
£23.59 from 1st February 2012 (wqs £22.20 a week to end January 2012): The payment is for 5 work-less days in any 3 month period. This is paid to an employee who normally works a five day a week but is laid off.
National Minimum Wage
| Age or characteristic | Current | From October 1st 2012 |
|
£6.08 per hour | £6.19 per hour |
|
£4.98 per hour | £4.98 per hour no increase |
|
£3.68 per hour | £3.68 per hour no increase |
|
£2.60 per hour | £2.65 per hour |
|
£4.61 per day | £4.73 per day. |
The apprentice rate applies to employed apprentices who are under age 19 or who are aged 19 or above in their first 12 months of apprenticeship.
Note that tips, etc are excluded from minimum pay.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) (For employees who earn more than the Lower Earnings Limit)
| Service | Leave entitlement | Pay |
| Less than 26 weeks’ service at the beginning of the 14th week before the Expected Week of Confinement | Up to 52 weeks | Nil |
| 26 weeks’ service or more at the beginning of the 14th week before the Expected Week of Confinement | Up to 52 weeks | Six weeks at 90% of earnings (even if less than the SMP weekly rate) and up to 33 weeks at the lesser of £135.45 from 9 April 2012 (£128.73up to then) or 90% of earnings. Total 39 weeks paid and 13 weeks unpaid |
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, working fathers have the right to two weeks’ paid paternity leave. This is paid at the lesser of SMP or 90% of earnings.
SMP and SPP are reimbursed to the employer via National Insurance Contributions paid in the previous tax year:
In all these cases your accountant will have the calculations easy to hand
On these issues we await the outcome of the Modern Workplace Consultation which may affect maternity and related rules and payments