Top 10 HR questions April 2024: minimum wage, holiday pay, redundancy

The highest rate of the national minimum wage now extends to 21-year-olds.

From 1 April 2024, the national living wage (the top rate of the national minimum wage) applies to workers aged 21 and over. The exception to this is where an apprentice is in the first year of their apprenticeship. One of the questions in the top 10 FAQs on Brightmine, formerly XpertHR, sets out how the minimum wage rules apply to apprentices.

Where an employer pays more than the national minimum rates, but still wants to pay younger workers less than their older colleagues, it has to be careful to avoid unlawful age discrimination. The relevant legislation allows for employers to base pay rates on age to a limited extent. This is explained in another of the FAQs in April’s top 10.

As well as changes to the national minimum wage rates, April brought a number of other employment law developments, including changes to the procedure for handling flexible working requests. For example, employers now have less time in which to respond to a statutory request, and cannot refuse a request without first consulting with the employee. Questions on flexible working featured this month look at trial periods, the right of appeal and the need to hold a meeting with the employee.

The top 10 also includes questions on the changes to the obligation to offer suitable alternative vacancies in a redundancy situation, and on holiday pay calculations.

The top 10 HR questions in April 2024:

1. Who is covered by the definitions of irregular hours workers and part-year workers in the Working Time Regulations 1998?

2. Are employers required to pay apprentices the national minimum wage?

3. When does overtime have to be included in holiday pay?

4. If an employee is on sickness absence during a bank holiday, are they entitled to be paid or to receive time off in lieu?

5. Can an employer use a trial period to test whether a proposed flexible working arrangement would work?

6. Does an employer risk age discrimination if it pays different rates in line with the national minimum wage age bands?

7. Does an employee made redundant while on maternity leave have any special rights?

8. In a redundancy situation, what obligations does an employer have with regard to offering suitable alternative employment?

9. Is there any right of appeal where an employer rejects an application for flexible working?

10. Where a statutory application for flexible working is acceptable as it stands, is the employer obliged to arrange a meeting to discuss the request?

relx_copyright – This article is Brightmine content – Copyright 2024 LexisNexis Risk Solutions