SMP meaning

In this issue: Horizon scanning Worker status and categories Immigration Pay Remuneration Taxation Diversity and the gender pay gap Maternity, parents and carers Whistleblowing Data protection and staff information Confidentiality, obligations and restrictions: enforcement Financial services and banking: employment matters Bribery, modern slavery, tax evasion and fraud Issues arising on termination Employment Tribunals Civil courts and alternative dispute resolution Dates for your diary Trackers Employment resources on Lexis+® LexTalk® Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Horizon scanning Updated Employment Rights Bill to be considered by the House of Lords The updated Employment Rights Bill (ERB), transmitted from the House of Commons to the House of Lords, was issued on 14 March 2025. Its second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled for 27 March 2025...

Summary of changes From 1 April 2024: new rules for calculating holiday entitlement and pay for irregular hours and part‑year workers (including 12.07% accrual and an option to use rolled‑up holiday pay); annual National Living Wage/National Minimum Wage uplift and removal of the live‑in domestic worker exemption; higher Agricultural Minimum Wage rates in Wales; and increased VAT registration (£90,000) and deregistration (£88,000) limits. From 6 April 2024: flexible working becomes a day‑one right with revised processes and an updated Acas Code; paternity leave/pay reformed so two separate one‑week blocks can be taken within the first year; introduction of unpaid carer’s leave; extended redundancy protection during pregnancy and for a period after family leave; Employment Tribunal rule changes and higher compensation caps; uplifted Vento bands; higher SSP; Class 1 main employee NIC cut to 8% while weekly thresholds (including the £123 LEL) remain static; veterans’ employer NIC relief extended; van benefit and car/van fuel benefits frozen; higher high income child benefit charge threshold with tapered application; and...

Summary of changes The following changes take effect from 1 April 2026: annual uplift to the national living wage (NLW) and the national minimum wage (NMW) an increase to NMW equivalence rates for seafarers an increase in NMW rates for agricultural workers in Wales and in Scotland the repeal of the Certification Officer’s power to raise a levy changes to the categories of permitted MATB1 evidence revisions to the Armed Forces complaints procedures and routes The following change takes effect from 5 April 2026: annual increase to the applicable rate of Statutory Maternity Pay The following changes take effect from 6 April 2026: significant reform of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), including the removal of waiting days and of the lower earnings limit annual increase to the rate of SSP introduction of day one rights to parental leave and to paternity leave, and removal of the restriction preventing...

Telecommunications in the UK is governed by both sector‑specific regulation and the general framework of competition law. This Practice Note explains how Ofcom, the UK’s national regulator, undertakes market reviews of the telecoms sector, with a particular emphasis on the Physical Infrastructure and Business Connectivity Markets, and the Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review. Ofcom’s powers Ofcom has powers under the Communications Act 2003 (CA 2003) to assess defined markets, judge whether competition is effective, and impose suitable remedies where competition issues are found. Several of these powers originated in European directives transposed into UK law. The most recent is Directive (EU) 2018/1972, which establishes the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast), implemented in December 2020. Those powers continue to apply because the implementing measures are EU‑derived domestic legislation and now sit within assimilated law. For further detail on the European Electronic Communications Code, see the Practice Note on the European Electronic Communications Code. ‘Assimilated law’ is the term for retained EU law (REUL) that remains in effect after the...

This Practice Note considers the practical matters that commonly arise in connection with an employment settlement agreement (previously referred to as a compromise agreement). It also highlights the likely tax considerations and signposts our related Practice Notes for fuller guidance. For details of the legal requirements (that is, the conditions governing settlement agreements) that must be satisfied for an agreement to be binding and effective to compromise statutory employment claims, see Practice Note: Settlement agreements in employment—legal requirements Parties to the agreement Where the employer is an individual, or a company with a straightforward corporate set-up, the parties to the settlement agreement will be the employer and the employee, with no necessity to mention third parties. However, the identity of the employing entity may not be simple, eg within a more complex group structure where: the employee works, or has worked, for other companies in the employer’s group, eg on secondment the employee performs their duties for one company but is paid by another...

STOP PRESS: This Practice Note reflects the current legislative position. However, the Commission published a proposal on 21 January 2026 for a Digital Networks Act that may repeal the European Electronic Communications Code. To follow the Digital Networks Act’s progress through the EU legislative process, see Practice Note: Media, digital and telecoms tracker—EU. This Practice Note provides guidance on Directive (EU) 2018/1972 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast), commonly known as the European Electronic Communications Code and, in this note, the EECC. The EECC recasts and brings together the principal directives that originally made up the EU‑wide framework for regulating electronic communications networks (ECNs) and electronic communications services (ECSs). The aim of the European Electronic Communications Code The EECC is a directive with the central objective of creating an updated and harmonised EU‑wide regime for the regulation of ECNs and ECSs. The previous EU telecoms regulatory framework (comprising Directive 2002/21/EC (the EU Framework Directive), Directive 2002/19/EC (the EU Access Directive), Directive 2002/22/EC (the EU Universal...

[ To be typed on employer’s headed notepaper ] [ Insert date ] Dear [ insert name of employee ] Congratulations, and thank you for informing me of your pregnancy and your baby’s expected due date. I am writing to you regarding your maternity leave and pay arrangements. As discussed, you qualify for 52 weeks of maternity leave, comprising 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave followed straight away by 26 weeks of additional maternity leave. Based on your selected start date of [ insert date ], your maternity leave will finish on [ insert date ]. Throughout your maternity leave period, all employment terms and conditions will remain in force, apart from those concerning pay. Should you wish to alter your start date, please, where feasible, notify me no later than 28 days before your proposed new start date, or 28 days ahead of [ insert date leave starts ] (your original start date), whichever is earlier. In certain circumstances, your maternity leave may begin earlier than...

[ To be typed on employer’s headed notepaper ] [ Insert date ] Dear [ insert name of employee ] Invitation to attend work for a 'keeping in touch' (KIT) day I hope that all is well with you and your new arrival. You may remember that [ when we wrote to confirm specifics of your maternity leave OR before you commenced maternity leave ] we spoke about the option of you attending work from time to time to stay updated with what is happening at the workplace whilst you are on leave, i.e. 'keeping in touch' (KIT) days...