The Government has announced the rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) which will come into force from 1st April 2024. 

The Government has announced the rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) 

Minimum wage rates from April 2024 announced

 has recently published their work-related ill-health and injury 

Figures show that approximately 1.8 million workers in Great Britain are affected by work-related illnesses, with stress, depression, and anxiety accounting for nearly half of these cases.

We have a wide range of health and safety awareness and management courses, take a look 

The Health and Safety Executive has recently published their work-related ill-health and injury statistics for 2023.

Health and Safety Executive statistics for 2023

The Home Office has announced that the penalties for failing to conduct appropriate right to work checks for employees will triple to a maximum fine of £60,000 in 2024.

For a first offence, penalties will be increasing next year from £15,000 to £45,000 and the maximum fine for a repeat offender will increase from £20,000 to £60,000. The increases have been announced with the aim of deterring modern slavery, illegal migration and exploitation.

The Home Office is not changing the rule set on how checks for non-British or Irish nationals should be completed. Employers must check the right to work for non-British workers by taking either of the following steps:

The gov.uk website has a full list of certified companies that can run digital ID checks of non-British job applicants (and existing employees). Employers can only use a government certified company to do the checks and a list of these can be found here:

2. Completing a Home Office online right to work check 

The job applicant or existing employee can generate a share code on the gov.uk website and share this with the employer.  

The employer can check the code to validate the right to work in the UK. 

Right to work checks – International workers

Research tells us that on an average employees use only 60% of their potential productivity! 

In each organisation and for each individual employee there will be varying causes and factors that inhibit productivity and output. But there are some simple methods and tools available that you can apply in your workplace and share with managers and employees to help boost productivity and deliver better results for your organisation.

Steps for increasing employee productivity:

Research tells us that on an average employees use only 60% of their potential productivity! In each organisation and for each individual employee there will be varying causes and factors that inhibit productivity and output. 

How to improve worker productivity

Over the last year the government has been looking at ways to simplify holiday pay rules and dispense with EU law. It has now confirmed plans to implement law that will allow employers to pay workers with irregular hours or on a part-year contract an additional sum to cover holiday pay each month. 

This so called “rolled up” holiday pay is currently unlawful after a ruling in 2006 by the European Court of Justice. The Court was concerned that rolled up holiday pay may have discouraged workers from taking leave as they could earn more holiday pay by staying at work. 

The plans will not include a 52-week reference period nor will they apply to workers with more typical working patterns.

The government has stated that “Allowing holiday pay to be paid as an enhancement to a worker’s pay at the time that the worker performed work, instead of when they are on holiday, would ensure that the worker’s holiday pay was as closely aligned to the pay that they would have received as possible.”

It is anticipated that the accrual method of calculating holiday pay entitlement at 12.07% of hours worked will be used.

The government has also stated that under future legislation the following payments should be included when calculating holiday pay:

We are anticipating the changes will come into effect from 1st January 2024 and will update you with more details once this timeline is confirmed. 

The government has now confirmed plans to implement law that will allow employers to pay workers with irregular hours or on a part-year contract an additional sum to cover holiday pay each month. 

Government to permit rolled up holiday pay for workers on part-year contracts or irregular hours

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 

has now received Royal Assent and will come into effect from October 2024.

The legislation will create a new duty on all employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sex harassment of their employees in the course of their work.

Failure to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment could result in the Equality and Human Right Commission taking enforcement action. Where there has been a successful claim for sexual harassment, and the employer is found to have been in breach of this statutory duty the Employment Tribunal will have the power to increase compensation by up to 25%.

The legislation amends the existing Equality Act which currently provides for a defence to a harassment claim if the employer can show they had taken all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening. However, there is currently no legal requirement on employers to take all reasonable steps. 

The new law will place a legal obligation on employers to take proactive measures to prevent sexual harassment. 

The duty will only apply to sexual harassment and not other forms of harassment based on a protected characteristic (i.e. age, race, sexual orientation, etc.). The Act does not define what reasonable steps should be, however the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will draft a statutory code which should give this detail.

Although the legislation will not come into effect until late 2024 it is important to start preparing for the change and keep evidence of the actions that are taken. 

Action employers can take over the next year to prepare and inform their workforce could include:

If you would like to discuss bespoke harassment awareness training options for your organisation then please contact a member of the SSG team.

New legislation requires employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment

SSG’s defibrillation initiative helps another organisation! 

As an organisation we have always valued positive impacts for local communities. This is why this year we launched a new initiative to support local community groups by supplying them with defibrillation units. 

As part of this, we have pledged that from every delegate booked onto a first aid course, £1 goes towards funding defibrillation units for community groups and organisations. This means that every time someone signs up for one of our first aid courses they are contributing to a life-saving cause in more ways than one. 

Earlier this year we presented a defibrillation unit to Teign Valley ‘Men in Sheds’ project who were so grateful for the donation. Now, we have been able to collect enough funding to buy a second unit to support another local organisation. The latest beneficiary of our defibrillation initiative is the Yealm Gig Rowing Group. 

Barry Wolstenholme, one of our Senior Health and Safety Trainers, presented the unit and said “It’s a great feeling to know that every time a delegate books a first aid course with us it’s going to help someone and an organisation. I’m thrilled that we get to help groups like the Yealm Gig Rowing Club and look forward to seeing who we can help next!” 

For more information about our first aid courses, please call our Customer Service team on 01752 201616. 

Every £1 goes towards funding defibrillation units for community groups and organisations.

SSG’s seventh Annual Conference marked as best one yet! 

This year we held our popular Annual Conference on Thursday 5th October. 

Each year we hold a conference for our health and safety, HR and ISO ADVISOR members. Through these we are able to provide them with latest updates on new legislations and information relevant to their organisations. It also gives delegates the chance to network with each other and SSG team members, as well as ask those thought-provoking questions! 

The conference started with three of the SSG Service Delivery team. Starting with Tim Harnett, Head of Consultancy, providing a health and safety update featuring statistics from the HSE as well as case studies. Manuela Grossmann, Head of People Services, gave employment law and HR updates before the first half was finished by Adam Worth, Head of Learning, with an interactive health and wellbeing session, giving an insight into mental health at work and a better understanding of conditions people may be facing. 

We were also lucky enough to have to guest speakers present. Dan Tolman from British Solar Renewables discussed health and safety climate and culture at work as well as focusing on an interesting incident that happened at his organisation. Peter Buscombe, an Inspector from the HSE, spoke about HSE’s priorities and initiatives and the drive they have on mental health over the next couple of years. 

The morning was finished off with one of our health and safety trainers, Shaun Davis, who previously worked as Fire Officer for Devon. Shaun was able to share his knowledge on fire compartmentation and examples of previous fires over the years he’s worked on. 

Our conference this year has proved to be a huge success in providing members with knowledge, ideas to take to their organisation and networking opportunities. We look forward to continuing to support our members and enhancing our services in the years to come. 

For more information about our ADVISOR membership scheme, contact our Customer Service Team on 01752 201616.

Each year we hold a conference for our health and safety, HR and ISO ADVISOR members. 

We are proud to announce that we have recently sponsored a local netball team. The team, SSG, who are part of Madballs NRC, are a dedicated group of athletes on a mission to make a grand return to their division after being relegated last year. 

This new sponsorship comes as part of our commitment to fostering community engagement and promoting health and fitness, and as such we are thrilled to support them.

The team is a friendly, close-knit group and one of four competing in their division. Last year, they faced the challenges of relegation but are now determined to come back stronger than ever. It is great to see their teamwork, enthusiasm and resilience, which also align with the values of SSG Training and Consultancy. 

Their dedication to improving their skills and performance is evident through their training sessions every Wednesday in Plymstock. Their commitment to continuous improvement is truly admirable and we wish them all the best this season. SSG play on Mondays at Plymouth Life Centre, make sure to cheer them on!

Through our sponsorship we are not only investing in a sports team but also in the development of local talent and community spirit. In doing this, we hope to encourage a culture of giving and social responsibility. 

Denise Maclean, Commercial Director at SSG, on supporting the team: "At SSG we are committed to helping local communities and designated charities through our ‘Beyond Business’ activities. Sponsoring this wonderful netball team is about supporting not only hard work but also teamwork and friendship. We are looking forward to seeing how they perform over the next few months!”

We invite the local community and surrounding areas to join us in cheering on the SSG netball team as they embark on their new season! Stay tuned for updates on their progress.

We are proud to announce that we have recently sponsored a local netball team.

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