Employment Law Round Up 2010

With Christmas almost upon us (and, in my case a lot Christmas presents still to buy – gift vouchers are looking an ever more attractive option!) it is a good opportunity to take stock of the year's changes in employment law.  To keep this article to a manageable proportion, this week’s article will focus solely on some of the main changes in employment law this year.  For a glimpse of what 2011 has in store, come back next week.

In chronological order, here were some of the main changes which took place in 2010 :-

1 January 2010 - Revised code of practice on time off for trade union duties comes into force

ACAS issued a revised "Code of practice on time off for trade union duties and activities". It gives practical guidance on how the statutory provisions on time off for trade union duties and activities should work. The revised code of practice is available on the Acas website and the Order bringing the code of practice into force can be viewed on the OPSI website.

1 February 2010 - Decrease of maximum unfair dismissal compensatory award

A number of limits applying to tribunal awards and other amounts payable under employment legislation decreased, including the limit on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal, which decreased from £66,200 to £65,300. 

6 April 2010 - Additional paternity leave for fathers

The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 entitled employees who are fathers or partners of mothers or adopters, to take paternity leave of up to 26 weeks in the first year of their child’s life or the first year after the child’s placement for adoption, pursuant to the Work and Families Act 2006. The additional paternity leave has effect in relation to children whose expected week of birth is on or after 3 April 2011. A number of requirements must be satisfied, including that the mother or adopter has returned to work. 

6 April 2010 - Number of years' contribution required to achieve a full basic state pension was reduced

The number of years' contribution required to achieve a full basic state pension reduced to 30 years for both men and women.

 6 April 2010 - Normal minimum pension age rises to 55

The minimum age at which people can start to receive pension payments from an occupational or personal pension scheme, rises from 50 to 55, although there are exceptions.

6 April 2010 - Additional paternity pay for fathers

The Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (General) Regulations 2010 introduced an entitlement for employees who are fathers or who are the partners of mothers or adopters, to receive additional statutory paternity pay, pursuant to the Work and Families Act 2006. The Regulations set out a number of eligibility requirements, including conditions regarding employment before the expected week of childbirth. 

6 April 2010 - Damages-based agreements in employment matters come into force

Damages-based agreements that relate to employment disputes must satisfy a number of conditions, including that they are in writing and do not provide for a payment above a prescribed amount. These agreements enable advocacy and litigation services to be provided where the recipient of those services is only obliged to make a payment for those services if the case is successful. The payment is calculated by reference to the damages awarded. 

6 April 2010 - Employee Study and Training (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) Regulations 2010 come into force

A statutory right to make a request in relation to study or training is introduced for employees in organisations with 250 or more employees. Employers will be obliged to consider seriously requests that they receive, but will be able to refuse a request where there is a good business reason for doing so. The Regulations prescribe that the maximum amount of compensation that may be awarded where an employer does not comply with the procedural requirements in respect of a request, or refuses an application on impermissible grounds, is eight weeks' pay.

19 July 2010 - Temporary immigration cap comes into force

The number of people permitted to enter the UK from outside the EU until April 2011 is limited.  This is an interim measure pending a long-term cap in April 2011. It includes a cap on the number of Tier 1 workers, raising the number of points required by highly-skilled workers from 95 to 100, and limiting the number of certificates of sponsorship that licensed employers can issue to those who wish to fill skilled job vacancies.

1^st October 2010 - National Minimum Wage

On the 1^st October this year the main rate of the national minimum wage rised from £5.80 per hour to £5.93 per hour and the development rate from £4.83 per hour to £4.92 per hour.  The rate for workers aged 16 to 17 years increases from £3.57 to £3.64 per hour. The main rate will apply to 21-year-old workers. An apprentice rate of £2.50 per hour will apply to apprentices who are under 19 or those who are aged 19 and over but in the first year of their apprenticeship. The per day value of the accommodation offset increases from £4.51 to £4.61.

6^th October 2010 - The Equality Act 2010

Most of us have heard by now, about the introduction of the Equality Act 2010 (if you haven’t there is still time to see my previous article on the 6^th October at http://www.kidwellssolicitors.co.uk/kidwells-articles/2010/10/6/the-equality-act-2010.html)   The Equality Act 2010 represents possibly the biggest change of 2010.  The Act consolidates existing equality law into a single piece of legislation and introduces a number of reforms. It defines direct discrimination as less favourable treatment because of a ‘protected characteristic’ thus widening the scope of discrimination, and introducing entirely new concepts (such as associative discrimination and discrimination by perception).  The Act prohibits employers from asking questions about health before offering a candidate a post. It widens the scope of harassment, by extending third party harassment to all the relevant protected characteristics.

For more information on how any of these changes may affect you or your business, please contact our Employment law solicitor Christopher Aldridge at CA@kidwellssolicitors.co.uk