9 March 2016

Childcare Voucher Scheme was not discriminatory

In Peninsula Business Services Ltd v Donaldson (EAT/0249/15), Ms Donaldson was a pregnant employee who was entitled to statutory maternity pay (SMP). She refused to join her employer’s salary sacrifice scheme (SSS) because it provided that her entitlement to childcare vouchers would be suspended during her maternity leave. Ms Donaldson claimed that the SSS amounted to unlawful sex discrimination but the EAT disagreed.

The EAT held that the provision of childcare vouchers under the SSS was a part of an employee’s remuneration under reg. 9 of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999. And therefore, the employer did not have to provide childcare vouchers to Ms Donaldson during her maternity leave.

The SSS provided the means to make a deduction from Ms Donaldson's salary to pay for childcare vouchers. But the vouchers were not a benefit in kind that was additional to her salary. And although tax legislation treated childcare vouchers as a non-cash benefit – the provision of the vouchers under the SSS remained to be a part of the Ms Donaldson's remuneration.

The EAT said that Parliament did not intend that an employer must continue providing childcare vouchers when an employee was only receiving SMP and there was no salary from which a deduction could be made to pay for the vouchers.

The EAT also held that sections 18 (Pregnancy and maternity discrimination: work cases) or 19 (Indirect discrimination) of the Equality Act 2010 did not apply to Ms Donaldson's claim of unlawful sex discrimination.

6 March 2016

Tribunal awards will increase from 6 April 2016

From 6 April 2016, tribunal awards will be increased by the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2016.

The main increases are:
  • The maximum amount of a week’s pay will increase from £475 to £479.
  • The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increase from £78,335 to £78,962.
The daily limit on a guarantee payment remains unchanged at £26.00.