Happy Christmas and best wishes for a healthy, prosperous and successful 2015 from me and all the team at Park City. It’s been an exciting year but not without its challenges both in terms of the economic climate and the ever-changing HR compliance environment we all operate in.
Challenging in respect to the Economic climate due to the increasing need to ensure we all benefit from the sustained recovery and the bullish Economic data that is fuelling the optimism and higher levels of certainty that the business community is experiencing 2014 seems to be finishing on a high. In terms of the compliance environment, both our own legislators and our friends in Europe continue to roll out new laws and guidelines or change, flex and improve existing legislation. Our team have had a busy year, here are a few areas Park City managed on behalf of our clients;
- Changes to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.
- Index-linked changes to Unfair Dismissal Compensatory Awards
- Early ACAS conciliation came into effect
- Further amendments to the Equality Act 2010
- Holiday pay implications as a result of Tribunal case ruling
- New entitlements for partners to take time off to attend anti-natal appointments
- Extension to Flexible Working Rights
- Shared Parental Leave – we are on the cusp of the implementation of this complex new legislation
- Auto-enrolment pension; Impacting many clients in 2014, worth remembering more and more employers will be affected by the auto-enrolment provisions that came into effect in October 2012. Employers with between 350 and 499 employees were expected to comply and offer a qualifying pension scheme to their staff by the start of 2014. Employers with 58 or more employees will be affected by the start of 2015.
As can be seen, there was no let-up in the pace and complexity of HR compliance changes in 2014 and 2015 will be no different. However, our approach continues to be to anticipate and prepare clients ahead of the changes with practical, bespoke solutions which also stretch into best practices to ensure robust foundations are created for businesses to allow them to meet the ever-changing and increasing compliance framework.
2015 will remain challenging for us all, in an Election year the potential uncertainty could, as it’s done in the past, have a negative effect on the economy with buyers and investors playing a waiting game until they know what the potential direction of travel may be from a new or changed Government……. What we at Park City can predict with certainty is that our activity levels in 2015 will remain high and the complexity of issues we will need to manage on our client’s behalf will continue and grow.
See our 2015/2016 up-and-coming legislative changes here.
Enjoy the festive holiday period and we look forward to working with you all in 2015.
Juliet Price.
