Legal Ease
Legal Timetable - 2010
What new employment legislation does your business need to be aware of this year?
Date
|
Legislation
|
Action
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 February 2010 | Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) | The limit for unfair dismissal will decrease from £66,200 to £65,300.
Redundancy payment remains £380. The maximum award and statutory redundancy increased to £11,400 from October 2009 and will remain unchanged until February 2011. |
| April 2010 | Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 | This Act introduces the right to request time off to undertake training, modelled on the right to request flexible working. Employers will be obliged to seriously consider requests that they receive, which can be refused where there is a good business reason for doing so. Employers will not be obliged to meet the salary or training costs to enable a request for time off to train to be met. The Government intends to introduce the right to time off to train for employees in organisations with 250 or more employees in April 2010, with the legislation being extended to cover all employees from April 2011 at the earliest. |
| April 2010 | Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Amendment Regulations 2010 | New regulations replacing the current “sick notes” with a “fit note” system. The Regulations replace the current "sick note" approach with a "fit note" system. The new format of the medical statement allows doctors to record whether a patient is fit or not fit for work plus a new option that allows a doctor to indicate where someone “may be fit for some work now”. The notes will set out what work employees could perform and how their duties and hours could be temporarily altered to take account of their health. |
| April 2010 | Work and Families Act 2006 | Fathers will be able to benefit from up to 26 weeks' additional paternity leave if the mother of the child returns to work before the end of the maternity leave period to which she is entitled. This will be available during the second six months of the child's life and may be paid if taken during the mother's statutory maternity pay period. The Government intends that the legislation is to come into force in April 2010, with effect for parents of babies due from 3 April 2011. |
| 6 April 2010 | The standard rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) remains unchanged at £79.15. The standard Statutory Maternity (SMP), Paternity SPP) and Adoption (SAP) Leave pay rate increases from £123.06 to £124.88 or the earnings-related rate, which is 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings. [However these rates are still subject to parliamentary approval] |
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| 6 April 2010 | Pensions Act 2007 | The number of years' contribution required to achieve a full basic state pension reduces to 30 years for both men and women. |
| 6 April 2010 | Finance Act 2004 | The minimum age that people can start to receive pension payments from an occupational or personal pension scheme, rises from 50 to 55. There are exceptions, including where the scheme member has a protected pension age or severe health problems. |
| 1 October 2010 | Annual increase of the National Minimum Wage is expected. | |
| October 2010 | Equality Bill | The Equality Bill consolidates existing equality law into a single piece of legislation. It also contains a number of important changes. Many of the provisions come into force this October. The bill also outlaws “gagging clauses” in contracts of employment preventing employees discussing their pay in certain circumstances. The key elements for employers are:
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You should seek specific advice before taking any action based on the information contained in this document.While every care has been taken in compiling these notes, FirstHR cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions; the notes are not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice.
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