Publication of Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal cases
Relaxation of restrictions for second jobs
Proposed change to collection of social security contributions for part-time staff
Extension of covid-19 business support
Additional public holiday in Jersey on Monday 27 September
Annual increase in statutory redundancy pay
Publication of Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal cases
In the recent appeal decision of the Royal Court of Jersey,(1) the Deputy Bailiff, Robert McRae (QC), commented that the practice of publishing all of the decisions of the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal (the tribunal) "require[d] some further thought".
In postscript comments, the Deputy Bailiff referred to his understanding that, upon the tribunal's inception, one of its aims had been to establish a significant body of case law, which he considered had now been achieved.
In the present case, the tribunal penalised the appellant employer, unaware that a claim for unpaid wages had already been paid to the satisfaction of the former employee.
The Deputy Bailiff commented that consideration needs to be given as to whether all decisions of the tribunal need to be published and, if so, the extent to which, if at all, they can or ought to be anonymised. It will be interesting to see whether these comments are taken forward by those responsible for legal system reform in Jersey. A range of issues may need to be considered, potentially including human rights and data protection. Certain rules regarding judgments of the tribunal relating to privacy and restrictions on disclosure are already provided for by the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal (Procedure) (Jersey) Order 2016. The publication of court and tribunal judgments are considered by many legal systems to be a fundamental facet of citizens' access to justice. On the other hand, many judgments of the tribunal do not deal with novel points of law and address well-established principles and minor technical breaches of the law.
Relaxation of restrictions for second jobs
In response to cross-sector skill shortages, the government has temporarily relaxed certain rules that apply to people that have licensed or registered status.
Licensed persons are approved by the Population Office as "essentially employed". Registered persons have less than five years' continuous residency. A prospective employer can engage a licensed or registered person only if it has secured an appropriate permission from the Population Office for the post in question.
For the period from 5 August 2021 to 31 October 2021, licensed and registered persons may work for a second business. That engagement will not count towards the second business's maximum numbers of licensed or registered persons that are permitted to work for it. The second business must take reasonable steps to ensure that, for the duration of the engagement, the licensed or registered person continues to work for the first business for an average of no less than one hour per week.
The measures have been implemented in consultation with the Chamber of Commerce to provide short-term support to seasonal businesses that rely on the recruitment of migrant workers (primarily in the hospitality and agriculture sectors) in response to the challenges presented by the covid-19 pandemic and Brexit. The intention is to enable businesses to utilise the skills of those already working in Jersey who are willing and able to work extra hours, without having to apply for additional registered or licenced permissions.
Business should note that, during this period, registered and licenced workers must continue to comply with any immigration requirements (eg, work permits).
Proposed change to collection of social security contributions for part-time staff
Currently, Jersey employers collect and pay contributions for any employees that work more than eight hours per week.
Subject to the approval of the States Assembly, from 1 January 2022, employers will instead pay contributions for any employees that earn above a certain amount, replacing the eight-hours-per-week rule. This means that businesses will need to ensure that for any employee who is paid above the earnings threshold – irrespective of their working hours per week – registration cards are held on file, the employee is included on the employer contribution schedule and contributions are collected and paid on the employees' behalf.
Initially, the minimum earnings threshold will be set so that it is equivalent to working eight hours a week at the minimum wage. The threshold in September 2021 would be £289 per month or £66 per week. This change has been proposed to make it easier for employers to collect social security contributions for part-time employees and report information to the government for contributions, income tax and manpower requirements, through a new combined employer return.
It is anticipated that the proposals will be debated in the States Assembly on 14 September 2021.
Extension of covid-19 business support
The government has confirmed that financial support for local businesses will be extended into Autumn and Winter 2021 following the third wave of covid-19 infections and the delay to stage 7 of the reconnection programme. The support schemes will be extended as follows:
- The Co-Funded Payroll Scheme will be extended until September 2021 for all sectors that already qualify. The scheme will also be available to wholesale and retail businesses and health and wellbeing businesses.
- The Fixed Cost Support Scheme for businesses connected to the events sector will be extended until March 2022.
- The Fixed Cost Support Scheme for close-contact personal services businesses (eg, health and beauty) will be available until September 2021.
- The Visitor Attraction and Events Scheme will be extended until March 2022.
- The Visitor Accommodation Support Scheme will be extended until March 2022.
Additional public holiday in Jersey on Monday 27 September
Monday 27 September 2021 will be a one-off public holiday in Jersey. This is to commemorate 250 years since the political reform following the Corn Riots.
To meet the requirements of Jersey's employment legislation, businesses should be aware that any employee for whom 27 September 2021 is a normal working day will be entitled to a day's holiday with pay. Alternatively, if an employee is required to work on that day, they should receive a normal day's pay and an alternative day off in lieu.
Annual increase in statutory redundancy pay
Following the release of the latest average earnings figures in Jersey, the cap on weekly pay for the purpose of statutory redundancy pay in Jersey will increase in September 2021.
Under the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003, qualifying employees who have two or more years of service are entitled to one week's capped pay for each full year of service.
Statistics Jersey announced last week that the mean average weekly earnings of full-time equivalent employees in Jersey has increased from £780 to £820 per week.(2)
This means that the cap on weekly pay for the purpose of calculating statutory redundancy pay will increase to £820 per week. This will apply where the effective date of termination is 28 September 2021 or later. Any business that is planning to make redundancies and calculating the potential payments should take into account this revised figure.
For further information on this topic please contact Helen Ruelle, Will Austin-Vautier, Laura Shirreffs or Kate Morel at Ogier by telephone (+44 1534 514000) or email ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]). The Ogier website can be accessed at www.ogier.com.
Endnotes
(1) Chenny Aouane Jersey Gems v Cheyenne McMurray.
(2) For further information please click here.