6 Questions Employers Should Not Ask During an Interview.

It is always important to ask questions of a potential employee. How else will you know if they are the right fit for your business otherwise?

However, you should ensure that your questions don’t delve too deep into the potential employee’s personal details. After all, you don’t want a discrimination case brought against you, even if you did not intend to discriminate.

Therefore, it is important to know what questions are a definite no-no. So, here goes: –

 

1. Are you married?

 

Any questions about marital status, children or future family plans are simply not permissible.

Such questions are too much of a personal nature and could even be potentially discriminatory. Asking a potential employee if they are married could be seen as trying to determine their sexual orientation and this has absolutely no bearing on whether they have the ability to do carry out the job or not.

2. Were you born in the UK?

 

Yes, you have a legal obligation to ensure that your employees are eligible to actually work in the UK. But you should not ask questions about their race, religion or native language.

A question of whether or not English is the potential employee’s first language is irrelevant, even if your employees are required to speak fluent English.

If the potential employee can speak and write in English to the standard that you require, and they can provide proof of their legal right to work in the UK, then they may well be the perfect person for your business.

 

3. How old are you?

This question might seem innocent enough, but there are very few reasons why you need to know a potential employee’s age.

Yes, some businesses require their employees to be a certain age for legal reasons, i.e. to sell alcohol, but otherwise, a potential employee’s age should not affect their ability to carry out the job effectively.

Instead, you can ask the potential employee for their date of birth on a separate Equal Opportunites Form, but remember that the interviewer is not be allowed to see this.

 

4. How many sick days did you take in your last job?

Questions along the lines of health, sickness or indeed disabilities should always be avoided at all costs.

The only time you may need to ask such questions is if you need to find out if the potential employee might need an assessment to establish their suitability for the job, or to establish whether adjustments need to be made in order to accommodate their needs (e.g. fitting a lift or disabled toilet).

 

5. Do you have any previous criminal convictions?

Potential employees are not required to advise of any criminal convictions if they have already served their sentence.

Therefore, you should not ask such questions, nor refuse employment because of a previous crime. The only exception to refusing employment is if the position relates to teaching, childminding, financial matters etc.

Remember that criminal records checks can be requested from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for certain roles (e.g. working with children, healthcare etc). However, these should be requested before the interview stage.

 

6. Are you a member of a trade union?

The Government website advises that an employer must not use the fact that a potential employee is a member of a trade union for or against them when deciding whether they are suitable for the position or not. This includes not employing them because they are a trade union member, or insisting that they join a trade union before you offer them the job.
The above questions are the big red flag ones that should not be asked of a potential employee during an interview. If you would like any further information on what you can and cannot ask or any other Employment Law query please get in touch via our website at http://www.orchardemploymentlaw.co.uk

Things To Look Out For In 2019

It’s hard to believe that we are already in 2019.

This year, there are a few different changes to legislation that will come into force and which you should be aware of in your business.

There will, of course, be more new laws and other legislative amendments throughout the year, but for now, here is a summary of the changes that we already know about.

 

National Living Wage Will Increase

From April, the UK National Living Wage will increase from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour. This will benefit around 2.4million workers and is an average £690 annual pay rise for full-time employees.

Other National Wage Rate changes are as follows: –

Age Group New Rate Current Rate

25 & Over £8.21 £7.83

21 to 24 £7.70 £7.38

18 to 20 £6.15 £5.90

Under 18 £4.35 £4.20

Apprentice £3.90 £3.70

 

Income Tax Thresholds Will Increase

The tax-free Personal Allowance will increase by another £650 in April to £12,500 – this is the amount you earn before you have to start paying income tax.

This means a basic rate taxpayer will pay £1,205 less tax in 2019-20 than in 2010-11.

And the amount that someone will have to earn before they start paying tax at the Higher Rate Threshold of 40% will increase from £46,350 to £50,000 in April, meaning that there is an additional £730 for people who earn above £50,000.

However, those earning more than £100,000 will not benefit as much, or even at all.

 

National Minimum Wage For Sleep-Ins

Last year, the Court of Appeal decided that people who work sleep-in shifts, i.e. nurses and care workers, are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage for any time that they spend sleeping and are ‘available for work’ but not ‘actually working’.

A request to appeal this decision was lodged with the Supreme Court and a decision is expected in 2019.

 

Pension Contributions

The minimum contributions for auto-enrolment pension schemes will increase for both employers and employees from April.

Current legislation means that employers must contribute a minimum of 2% of an employee’s pre-tax salary, with the employee contributing 3%.

Under the new legislation, employers and employees will now have to contribute a minimum of 3% and 5% respectively.

 

Itemised Payslips

From 6th April, a person’s legal right to receive a payslip will be extended so as to include workers as well as employees, such as contractors and freelancers.

Employers will also be required to include the total number of hours worked on payslips for employees whose wages vary depending on how much time they have worked. The payslip will also need to include the total number of hours worked for variable pay rates.

 

Sick Pay and Statutory Family Pay Rates To Increase

Statutory Family Pay Rates are likely to increase to £148.68 in April. This rate will apply to Maternity Pay, Adoption Pay, Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Pay and Maternity Allowance.

The weekly rate for Statutory Sick Pay is likely to increase to £94.25 from 6th April.

 

Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay

It was confirmed last year that the Government will be introducing a right for bereaved parents to take paid time off work.

Under the current proposals, parents who have suffered a bereavement will be able to take leave as a single two-week period, as two separate periods of one week each, or as a single week.

They will be entitled to take such leave within 56 weeks of their child’s death.

It is expected that this new legislation will come into effect in April 2020, but employers should start preparing for it this year.

Employers may also decide to introduce their own Bereavement Leave Policy if they do not already have one.

 

Further Changes To The Apprenticeship Levy To Support Employers

From April, larger businesses will be able to invest up to 25% of their Apprenticeship Levy into supporting apprentices in their own supply chain.

Further, some employers will only be required to pay half of what they currently pay for apprenticeship training – down from 10% to 5%. The Government will be paying the remaining 95%.

 

The Annual Investment Allowance Will Increase

The Annual Investment Allowance increased from £200,000 to £1million on 1st January 2019. This will end on 31st December 2020 and will help businesses to invest and grow.

In addition to this, from October 2018, businesses are now able to deduct 2% of the cost of any new non-residential structures and buildings from their profits before they pay tax.

 

Post-Brexit Immigration Rules

What are likely to possibly be the most significant changes to occur in 2019 are those relating to the employment of EU nationals, regardless of whether a deal on the UK’s exit from the EU is agreed or not.

Once the UK leaves the EU, free-movement will end. However, it is highly likely that this will be delayed pending legislation to repeal current laws. It will also take time to put into place the practical arrangements necessary to make these changes possible.

The Government has introduced a scheme in which EU workers who are already living in the UK will be able to apply for “settled status”, in order that they will be able to continue to live and work in the UK indefinitely.

However, employers should be aware that, moving forwards, the employment of EU nationals is highly likely to be subject to the same restrictions as those involving the employment of other foreign nationals. Employers will, therefore, need to adapt their recruitment processes as a result.

If you would like any further information on how these changes will affect you and your business, please email us at info@orchardemploymentlaw.co.uk We’d be happy to help.

Things that employers should be thinking about leading up to Christmas

Not long now until we start hearing Christmas jingles and seeing Christmas adverts on the TV and everyone starts talking about mince pies and mulled wine.

Of course, there are some people who think November is too early to start talking about Christmas, whilst others are literally counting down the days. And some have even finished all of their Christmas present shopping! 

We have a few tips to help you, as an employer, get through the Christmas period, and get your staff motivated and productive, instead of wishing the days away until they get a break.

Christmas Opening Hours

First of all, you should be confirming to your clients and customers, as well as your employees, what your Christmas opening hours are. If your business provides services all year round, inclusive of bank holidays, you need to start letting your employees know when they will be working in order to avoid poor attendance over the festive period.

Payroll

Secondly, start planning your Christmas payroll. Will you be paying your employees early? Does payday fall on a Christmas bank holiday? Will your employees be paid after Christmas?

Be organised in this regard to avoid delays in paying your staff.

 

Christmas Parties

Whether you are organising an official or unofficial Christmas party, it is always wise to remind your staff about what you expect from them.

Send an email or memo to your staff to gently remind them to behave appropriately, drink responsibly and arrange appropriate transport. No one wants to come back to work after Christmas without their driving licence or having to face a disciplinary over events that took place at a work party.

Also, remember that not everyone celebrates Christmas, so you need to be mindful to not exclude or discriminate against any staff members.

 

Bonuses

Many businesses reward their staff with Christmas or end-of-year bonuses and this is a great way to help staff morale.

However, we would always advise employers to have a policy in place regarding bonuses, in order to avoid being sued for discrimination or non-payment of a bonus.

This policy should state that bonuses are non-contractual and it should also clearly set out qualification terms, including that staff members must still be working for you at the time of payment in order to receive the bonus.

 

Adverse Weather

It happens every year. Snow, ice, frost and fallen trees can cause havoc on our roads and also on public transport, so much so that you could have staff who are late to work or even unable to make it into work at all because of the winter weather.

You are under no obligation to pay staff who are unable to attend work, but it is always a good idea to put things in place which allow your staff to maintain pay and also for your business to continue to function.

Think about allowing staff to arrive later at work, work from home or make up their hours on another occasion.

If you do decide to pay staff who cannot attend work, ensure that they are told that it is an act of goodwill and is not intended to be contractual.

 

Sickness

Coughs, colds, sniffles and maybe even the flu are inevitable at this time of year, and this can mean that businesses experience higher absence levels than normal.

November and December are the perfect time to promote good hygiene in the workplace. Provide your staff with hand sanitisers, sweet-smelling antibacterial soaps, telephone wipes and keyboard wipes to help reduce germs spreading and to keep staff healthier for longer.

Now is also the perfect time to review your sickness policy and remind employees who, how and when they should contact work if they are sick.

 

Annual leave reminders

Some businesses have their holiday year starting on 1st January and ending on 31st December. If this is the case for your business, now is the perfect time to remind staff about their unused annual holiday allowance.

You do not have to allow staff to roll over their unused holiday into the next year unless there are exceptional circumstances such as maternity leave or illness. Remind staff that unless they use up their holiday entitlement, it will not roll over into 2019. As the saying goes, use it or lose it.

And believe it or not, you are also able to refuse holiday if it is not a convenient time for your business or if there are too many staff off.

That being said though, it is good to give staff time to rest so you should be reasonable when receiving holiday requests.

Many employers are also unaware that they can impose annual leave. So if your business has a down period or if your staff have unused holiday you can simply give them a day off. Remember to give notice though.

We hope that these tips help you to get through the festive period smoothly and efficiently.

But remember to have fun as well!

For any help with staffing issues, Employment Law or HR you can contact us at info@orchardemploymentlaw.co.uk