Susan's Legal Bits

In March 2009 Susan was interested in.....

....P45s and The Agency Workers Directive....again.

Hi everyone,

Well, spring has sprung here in West Sussex and we are all preparing for year end and The Budget announcement (said to be on 22nd April 09).

A few things have interested me recently so, as usual, I wish to share!!

The design of the age-old p45 has been changed by the powers that be and if you are leaving an employer, perhaps to come and join us, after April you should be given an A4 document, possibly black and white, to hand to us (oops, I mean them!). We employers have been given various options to implement this change but the biggest thing to remember is that an A4 document on normal white paper is going to be a verifiable P45.

Make sure you keep your P45 safe; without a P45 your tax can become very complicated as you move from place to place. Therefore our advice to you is that, every time you move from one payroller or employer to another, please request a P45 when you leave and hand over one when you arrive.

Of course, the same applies when you come back to us - get that P45 from wherever you were most recently being paid and send it in. Our 'returner' process is as smooth as it can possibly be (as well as us giving you £50 just for coming back and working through us for 8 weeks) and our biggest aim is to ensure that your first week back with us is tax beneficial - we just can't promise that if we haven't received an up-to-date P45.

The Agency Worker's Directive is still grumbling away with negotiations now taking place about where and how a dispute would be resolved! As a quick reminder, the Temporary Agency Workers Directive or TAWD (as it is now becoming fondly known) is a Directive that is likely to come into UK legislation in the next few years (by 2011) to ensure temporary workers have the same pay and working conditions as permanent employees after 12 weeks on the contract.

Since it first became a hot topic various views have been formed on scant details but it's good to know that discussions, debates and opinion surveys are still taking place so that when it does get implemented it will work to be of benefit to as many as possible rather than a thorn in a hirer's or agency's side. At the moment the European legislation on which the TAWD is based doesn't contain a reference to 'comparators' which, to me, begs the question "how are we going to ensure temps get the same as perms without being able to refer to each other's details in the form of an adequate comparison"?

I am sure I will be educated on this subject as the weeks and months go by and I am enjoying being a side-line spectator as the top brass try and work this one out.

As always, I'm here, as are all my colleagues, to help you with your payroll and certain employment law issues so please do get in touch if you ever wish.

Have a good month. Easter Egg wise, mine's a Cadbury's Dairy Milk one!!!

To give Susan your suggestions and comments you can get in touch with her here.

All comments provided on my blog are for informational purposes only. My thoughts and opinions are my own with agreement from my employer as being suitable for sharing with the wider world. Any advice, or writing that might be taken as advice, should not be deemed in any way as professional Legal advice and are only the musings of a HR practioner whose sole aim is to help where she can.