Pay in Lieu of Notice (PILON) – Do you need to review your employment contracts?
Changes to the way in which termination payments are taxed came into force from 6 April 2018.
From 6 April all notice pay is to be treated as earnings and subject to tax and national insurance contributions – irrespective of whether or not there is a pay in lieu of notice clause (PILON) in the employment contract, this effectively removes the distinction between contractual and non-contractual PILON.
As a matter of best practice, we would certainly recommend that going forward all employment contracts contain a PILON clause.
In fact, in light of these recent changes, not having a PILON clause now will only leave you at a disadvantage. If you were to process a payment in lieu of notice without a contractual right to do so it could leave you at risk of not being able to rely on any post-termination restrictions such as non-competition clauses and confidentiality. Processing a PILON without a contractual right to do so would be considered a breach of contract. This is because you would be in breach of contract by making the payment and would therefore result in you not being able to rely on any of the other contractual clauses.
Contracts of employment created in Bright Contracts will contain a PILON clause by default.
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