Susan's Legal Bits

In July 2009 Susan was interested in things that were.....

....too hot to handle

Hello All,

Well it's hotting up weather wise and I too have become hot under the collar recently when I heard of a competitor of ours not paying their clients holiday pay. If anyone is working through an umbrella company system then they are employees.

This means that a whole raft of employment legislation must be adhered to by the umbrella company provider including but not limited to holiday pay, national minimum wage, SSP, SMP and SPP. Furthermore, a recent decision from the House of Lords in Stringer and Others v HMRC said in no uncertain terms that failure to pay holiday pay is a 'deduction of wages' therefore anyone believing this might effect them should do more research or seek appropriate advice (I'm always available for informal chats as you know :)).

National Minimum Wage is sacred as far as I am concerned and, when I heard that another umbrella company was 'offsetting' the employee's expenses against this pay element I was shocked. Granted I was not able to investigate further and, of course, if it's financially benefical to the temporary worker who chooses to use this provider then they are unlikely to complain but, reducing the national minimum wage by deducting the cost of expenses the worker is claiming, is highly unethical and I cannot stress strongly enough my concerns for whoever is operating a business in this way.

Another area I feel particularly strongly about is Data Protection Law. Here at Gabem we all protect (sometimes fiercely - Sarah in payroll!!) the interests of our clients and DO NOT give out personal data to a third party unless with the permission of the individual whose data it is or via a court order/official body. I've heard from some workers that their information was just 'shared' without their consent whilst working for a major umbrella company provider and it reminded me of the recent enforcement action taken by the Information Commissioner's Officer against a particular company who had sold the personal data of their construction workers to other agencies for vetting in recruitment processes. In that instance the firm was shut down for breach of the Data Protection Act and the owner faced significant fines for non-compliance.

I've had news that made me smile recently too (yes it is a common occurence!!) and that was from one gentleman I spoke to about low hours last week - I asked how he was coping with the general downturn and he told me that this week had been rubbish but next week 'it was going to go nuts!!' I'd love to hear from anyone that is seeing a positive change in the amount of work coming on - in whatever industry.

So... here I have to sign off but as always wish you a safe and healthy summer month. I'm off to find some shade and get that cornetto out of the freezer!!

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.