The Chancellor used his Budget speech to confirm that increased National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates are due to come into effect on 1 April 2019.

The NLW first came into effect on 1 April 2016, and is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 25 or over. From 1 April 2019 the National Living Wage will increase by 38p to £8.21. This represents an increase of almost 5%.

The hourly rate of the NMW (for 21-24 year olds) will increase to £7.70 (a rise of 32p). The rates for 18-20 year olds will increase to £6.15 (a rise of 25p) and the rate for workers above the school leaving age but under 18 will increase to £4.35 (a rise of 15p). The NMW rate for apprentices increases by 20p to £3.90.

The new rates mirror the recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) which have been accepted in full by the government. The independent Low Pay Commission (LPC) was established following the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 to advise the government on the NMW. It is made up of representatives from all sides of industry. The increases will come into effect from April 2019, subject to Parliamentary approval.

Unlock, a charity that assists people with criminal convictions, has published new guidance to help employers ensure that their policies and practices on collecting criminal records data during recruitment are compliant with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The guidance includes contributions from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The guidance emphasises that collecting criminal records data during the initial job application stage is unlikely to be compliant with data protection laws as it’s unlikely to be necessary; employers must be able to demonstrate that processing criminal records data is necessary at whatever stage they decide to collect it. The guidance also states that employers should have a policy in place on collecting personal data, which includes a section on the processing of criminal records data. That policy should clearly identify the purpose of collecting criminal records data and the lawful basis for collecting it, explain how long this data will be retained and who it will be shared with and set out job applicants’ legal rights in relation to their information.

Finally, Unlock recommends employers follow a three-stage process to determine if, when and how they should ask about criminal records:

1. Define the purpose of collecting criminal records data.
2. Identify a lawful basis for processing and meet a condition of processing.
3. Set out their privacy policy and data subject rights.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a self-assessment checklist to help small business owners and sole traders to assess their compliance with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The ICO’s interactive online checklist asks users to answer a series of eight questions by giving either a “yes”, “no” or “in part” answer. At each stage, the user can first click to view more information on the particular question. Once all questions have been completed, an overall “green”, “amber” or “red” rating is generated based on the user’s responses. For any individual answers that are given an “amber” or “red” rating, there is a bullet point list of suggested actions for the user to address the non-compliance issue, together with handy links to relevant ICO guidance for more detailed information.

ACAS has published new guidance on employment references aimed at both employers and employees, based around the typical questions it receives on the ACAS helpline. The guidance makes clear that there is usually no legal obligation on employers to provide a reference, but employers who do give them must make them true, fair and accurate.

The guidance covers:

• What is an employment reference?
• Does an employment reference have to be provided?
• What can an employment reference include?
• When are employment references needed?
• Job offers and references
• Can an employer give a bad reference?
• Resolving problems with references.

Advice provided in the guidance includes that:

• Employers must only seek a reference from a job applicant’s current employers with their consent
• If a conditional job offer is made, it can be withdrawn if the job applicant doesn’t meet the condition of supplying satisfactory references
• Potential employers should remember that a referee may not provide a reference or might inaccurately suggest the job applicant is unsuitable – in these circumstances, it may help to discuss any concerns with the job applicant directly first
• Job applicants who are unhappy with a reference can ask for a copy that was sent to their potential employers and may be able to claim damages in court if they can prove it was misleading or inaccurate and resulted in the withdrawal of their job offer.

Unfortunately, the guidance only touches briefly on the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the provision of employment references. Before providing a reference on an employee or ex-employee, employers should ensure they first have the individual’s express consent, including consent not just to the provision of the reference itself but also to the identity of the intended recipient.

Many employers rightly have concerns about the process of dismissing an employee. Whilst there are many laws to be aware of, there are some important basic rules to observe. It is also important that employers consider the reasons that can be used to dismiss an employee and that a proper procedure for doing so is followed.

There are different types of dismissal:

• Fair dismissal. An employer must have a valid reason for dismissing an employee. This could relate to an employee’s capability or conduct or to a redundancy. However, even if you have a fair reason, the dismissal is only fair if you also act reasonably during the dismissal and disciplinary process.
• Unfair dismissal. Even if you think you’ve dismissed someone fairly, they could still claim unfair dismissal against you for a number of reasons. There are also some reasons for dismissal that are classed as automatically unfair such as pregnancy and all reasons relating to maternity.
• Constructive dismissal. This is when an employee resigns because you’ve breached their employment contract. A constructive dismissal isn’t necessarily unfair but could lead to a claim for wrongful dismissal.
• Wrongful dismissal. This is where an employer breaks the terms of an employee’s contract in the dismissal process, e.g. dismissing someone without giving them proper notice.

If an employee thinks they have been dismissed unfairly, constructively or wrongfully, they might have the right to take their employer to an employment tribunal. There are many circumstances where an ex-employee can claim to have been unfairly or wrongfully dismissed, and it is important that proper advice is taken before starting the dismissal process.