The world is a fast-moving place, with new technologies and new laws popping up left and right. It's sometimes a challenge just to keep your head above the water! But, with 2017 just around the corner, you've come to the right place... In this article, we'll be preparing you for the year to come by listing 7 ways HR will change in 2017. Although the New Year is almost upon us, most of these changes aren't expected until the new tax year in April 2017 -- so you have plenty of time to prepare!
On 6th April 2017, the apprenticeship levy is expected to come into force. This change requires all large employers (with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million) to pay an apprenticeship levy set at 0.5% of their pay bill. This money will then be used to fund apprenticeship training and assessments. This new levy also slightly changes the definition of the term 'apprenticeship'. The term apprenticeship will only refer to courses that have statutory training requirements. Courses where the training is not statutory will no longer be described as apprenticeships. Additionally, apprenticeship targets will be set for public sector organisations with 250 or more employees. The levy must be paid to HMRC through the PAYE process. For more on that, click here.
On 5th May 2016, The Trade Union Act 2016 was passed. However, the majority of the new provisions aren't set to be enforced until early next year. HR workers in unionised environments will have to get their heads around important changes, such as: