The compensation and termination rates from the 6th April 2025 for settlement agreements will be:-
Maximum basic award for unfair dismissal £21,570
Maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal £118,223 (or 52 weeks gross pay if less)
Maximum statutory redundancy payment £21,570
A weeks pay £719 per week.
New legislation is due to come into force forcing employers to take a more proactive rather than a reactive approach to sexual harassment. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 comes into force this October. Damages for harassment are unlimited. A successful tribunal claim for sexual harassment, under the new legislation, can attract an additional compensation uplift of up to 25%. This significantly increases the potential exposure to financial liability for businesses.
Here is a summary of some recent significant cases:-
The Supreme Court ruled that employees who have been underpaid for their holidays can claim for the shortfall even if more than three months has elapsed between those underpayments. This increases the employers financial liability who are calculating holiday pay incorrectly.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal handed down a judgment on when employees behaviour on social media outside of the workplace can instigate disciplinary action by their employers. A sensitive matter as employees want to add their voices to the virtual debate.
The Supreme Court decided that in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights Deliveroo cyclists are not employees.
The fall in the number of construction contracts has been evidenced by a 25% insolvency increase in building firms since the pandemic.
Escalating inflation, delays in significant infrastructure projects, a drop in the construction of new homes and the cost increments of materials are the chief culprits here.
Unfair dismissal and redundancy pay will increase from the 6 April 2023:-
The maximum amount of “a week’s pay” for the purpose of calculating a redundancy payment or for various awards including the basic or additional award of compensation for unfair dismissal will increase from £571 to £643.
The limit on the amount of the compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increase from £93,878 to £105,707.
The cost of living crisis sweeping in increasing interest rates and the prospect of recession is contributing to an unprecedented rise in redundancies compared to this time last year. Solicitors are therefore reporting a demand in their services for the scrutiny of settlement agreements. It should be remembered that settlement agreements can only relate to the specific issue being settled. A settlement agreement cannot be used to settle all or any matters in a generic sense.
Three principles have recently been established by case law in relation to these agreements. They are:-
i) Lawyers can charge for their time if the agreement is ended prematurely
ii) They will not be permitted unless a reasonable amount could be recovered from the claimant
iii) They are not the same as agreements for litigation funding.
On the 31st July 2020 the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Her Majesty The Queen had been pleased to approve the appointment of Sir Geoffrey Vos as the Master of the Rolls from the 11th January 2021 in succession to Sir Terence Etherton.
It is interesting to note that 6 out of 7 of the most recent incumbents of this judicial office have been of the jewish faith the others being Lords Woolf, Phillips, Neuberger and Dyson.
We find that jewish solicitors are often particularly sought after because of their perceived quality traits of intelligence, shrewdness, toughness and integrity.
If you are looking to find such a solicitor please do not hesitate to call us.