From 1 October 2009, the limit on a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating a statutory redundancy payment will rise from £350 to £380 per week.
This increase will also apply to a wide range of employment tribunal awards – calculated using a week’s pay – that an employer might have to pay, such as:
– compensation for non-compliance with flexible working procedures
– the basic and additional awards for unfair dismissal
– compensation where an employer has failed to consult a trade union or elected employee representatives when it intends to make 20 or more employees redundant
– compensation for failure by an employer to allow an employee to be accompanied to a disciplinary or grievance hearing
– compensation for failure by an employer to give a statement of employment particulars
– compensation for an employer’s failure to comply with its duty to notify an employee of either the date on which it intends to retire them or their right to make a request not to retire on that date This amount is also used to calculate various payments made by the Secretary of State from the National Insurance Fund if an employer’s business becomes insolvent. Examples of such payments include:
– holiday pay
– arrears of pay
– redundancy pay
– pay in lieu of notice
– unpaid compensation for unfair dismissal Note that the limit normally changes on 1 February every year in line with the retail prices index. As this change is taking place in October, on 1 February 2010 there will be no change to the limit on a week’s pay for the purposes set out above.