February 2010

New Rates for ETs
From 1st February new compensation limits in the Employment Tribunal (ET) are in force.
Maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal = £65,300
Maximum guaranteed redundancy payment per day = £21.20

IT’s complicated...
You must have seen the sorry tale of an Australian bank employee caught looking at ‘inappropriate material’ on live TV and subsequently the world through You Tube.
The moral of the story is to ensure you have a comprehensive email and internet policy outlining what is, and is not acceptable use and periodically remind your employees.

Agency worker or employee?
Be cautious if you use agency workers.
The Court of Appeal recently stated that in certain circumstances an agency worker can be an employee and gain the same legal protections. The factors looked at were control, personal performance, and mutuality of obligation. This can also be the case for self employed contractors.

January 2010

The Year Ahead
2010 has many employment changes with serious consequences for employers

Right to time off for training
From 6th April employers with more than 250 employees will have to consider requests from them for time off to train.

Fit notes
From Spring, GPs should be able to state on “sick notes” if the employee is fit for work, what kind of work, and suggest any adjustments which would facilitate return to work.

Paternity leave and pay
Midyear you will need to update your paternity leave policy to include changes coming into force for babies born after 3rd April 2011

Equality Bill
Expected to come into force in October, the Equality Bill will harmonise discrimination law, make equality of pay more transparent, introduce new types of disability discrimination and widen the scope of “positive action”

Look out for more details in future updates

Snow Joke
With the extreme weather forecast to continue, staff absence is inevitable.
• Employees with children are entitled to reasonable unpaid leave to sort out emergencies such as school closures.
• Unless there is a contractual provision to the contrary, you will have to pay employees on days when it is clearly impossible for them to get to work because of the weather.

December 2009

Discrimination by association
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that associative discrimination is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.
Discrimination against an employee because of a third party’s disability may be unlawful. In this case the employee’s son was disabled.      

Beyond belief
Everyone expects belief in the main religions to be covered by the religious discrimination legislation. However, the Employment Tribunal has just ruled that belief in global warming and an obligation to “save the planet” can also be covered.

Don’t make assumptions about what will be deemed to be a “belief”.

A Christmas Carol
To avoid the problem of regretting a Christmas Past with health and safety, unauthorised absences and harassment grievances hitting your desk, our Christmas Carol provides some timely advice to ensure a good time for all through Christmas and the New Year.

November 2009

Changes to Discrimination Awards
The possible award for injury to feelings, in a successful claim for discrimination, is potentially unlimited. However, through the Employment Tribunal, guidelines for maximum awards were put in place. Since then these maximum awards will be increased in order to stay in line with inflation.

> Lower Band: up to £5,000
> Middle Band: up to £15,000
> Upper Band: up to £30,000

Discrimination can be a very costly area so if you are unsure about anything you should take legal advice.

Up date on National Minimum Wage
As of 1st October 2009 the national minimum wage increased, but you may not have been aware that those employees who are aged 21 will now fall into the adult bracket.
It is important to keep a note of you employee’s date of birth in their personnel file.

Email and Fax during the Postal Strikes
The postal strikes at the end of October, and continuing into November, caused disruption for businesses and highlighted the usefulness of email and fax.
What is often forgotten is the necessity to have in place codes of practice. Recently one woman was dismissed for sending an email in CAPITALS and red letters as it was deemed to be aggressive and bullying.

Proper protocol for the use and content of electronic communication is essential. Therefore, it is advisable to include in your Staff Handbook a policy for the use of electronic communication systems.

October 2009

Annual reviews have just come into force for the National Minimum Wage and Redundancy Pay, plus new legislation for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

National Minimum Wage:
From 1st October 2009 the hourly minimum wage rates have increased to:

Standard Rate (22 yrs and above): £5.80
Development Rate (18-21 yrs inclusive): £4.83
Young Workers Rate: £3.57

Also tips, service charges and gratuities can no longer be used to “top up” a basic wage to the national minimum wage.

Redundancy Pay Increase:
For redundancies on or after 1st October 2009 the maximum weekly redundancy pay has increased to £380.

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults:
From 12th October 2009 the system for vetting and barring individuals from working with children or vulnerable adults will be streamlined. There will be two lists “children” and “vulnerable adults” which will contain the names of those who are barred from working with them. The information will only be accessible with an enhanced criminal records bureau check and the people who can request such a check has been extended to include those who carry out regulated activities.

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