Golf HR’s Carolyne Wahlen on the employment law changes that will impact on golf clubs hiring seasonal staff.
Seasonal staff can be a huge asset to golf clubs as they brace for a busy summer, but there are several key updates to employment law you need to be aware of.
Golf HR’s Carolyne Wahlen outlines three main areas where employers need to be up to speed with the latest updates.
1) National Minimum Wage
Effective from April 1, the new hourly rates are as follows:
National living wage (21yrs + ): £11.44 per hour (from £10.42)
18- to 20-year-olds’ rate: £8.60 per hour (from £7.49)
16- to 17-year-olds’ rate: £6.40 per hour (from £5.28)
Apprentice rate: £6.40 per hour (from £5.28).
2) Rolled-up holiday pay for part-year workers and irregular-hours workers
Before October 2019, paying out holiday for zero hours/casual and part-year workers every month was allowed. It was calculated by multiplying their hours worked that month by 12.07 per cent to get the holiday hours to be paid at their normal rate of pay. This change means employers can legally go back to using that method.
The rolled-up part of this holiday pay is that they get paid their holiday every month, not when they take holiday. Rolled-up holiday pay had been illegal in the UK for many years, but has now been reintroduced for zero hours, casual and part-year workers.
The holiday does have to be clearly shown on the pay slip so that workers can see how much has been paid and when. You can use this holiday payment method now. For existing staff, please check their contracts to see if other provisions apply.
3) Right to request a more predictable working pattern
From September, zero hours and casual workers will be able to request more predictable hours. Again, like flexible working, it is a right to request, not a right to have. However, if you have staff on zero hours who consistently work the same number of hours a week (and many golf clubs do), it will be almost impossible to refuse their request to transfer to a new contract guaranteeing those hours.
