October 2011
Agency workers
Right to equal treatment
Agency Workers Regulations 2010

The government has finalised these regulations, following consultation, and they are now before Parliament. They are scheduled to come into force on 1 October 2011. The regulations, which implement the 2008 EU Temporary Agency Workers Directive, provide all agency workers with a right to equal treatment over basic employment and working conditions after 12 weeks in a given job (working time, overtime, holidays, public holidays and pay) compared with their directly recruited counterparts.

The government has said that guidance to accompany the regulations will be published at least 12 weeks before the enforcement date.

Bis response to consultation on draft regulations

Agency Workers Regulations 2010

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2010
Equality
Major new legislation imminent
Equality Bill

The Equality Bill is currently before Parliament and has passed from the House of Commons to the House of Lords. Its main aim is to consolidate and streamline existing discrimination law. It also contains new measures to produce greater transparency in pay, including a ban on contractual secrecy clauses that prevent employees from discussing salaries.

The bill will allow employers to discriminate in favour of women when choosing between two equally qualified candidates, to a limited extent. It also includes significant changes to the current tests for establishing disability discrimination, which the government has indicated it will consider further and may amend again at the report stage. Since the bill was originally published the government has consulted on whether or not "multiple" discrimination, ie, discrimination on more than one ground, should be covered. As a result of the consultation the bill has been amended to include a new clause on dual discrimination where an individual has been discriminated against because of a combination of two protected characteristics.

The government intends that the bill will receive royal assent in spring 2010, with the majority of its provisions coming into force in October 2010.

Equality Bill

Government information on Equality Bill

2011
Equality
Review of default retirement age
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 and Employment Rights Act 1996
(forthcoming amendments to sections 98ZA-98ZH)

The default retirement age (DRA) - the provision that allows employers to require employees to retire at age 65 - was originally due to be reviewed in 2011. The government brought this review forward by a year and, having collected evidence from organisations and individuals on how the DRA operates, it will be announcing a decision this summer. This will be followed by a consultation on the proposed changes, which are scheduled to take effect in 2011.

Bis call for evidence on default retirement age

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June 2012
Holidays
Extra bank holiday
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971

The government is planning to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with an additional bank holiday on Tuesday 5 June 2012. The late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June to create a long weekend of celebration.

BIS press release

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October 2009
National minimum wage
Tips to be excluded
New law now in force
National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (forthcoming amendments)

Since1 October 2009 it is no longer possible for employers to count tips and service charges towards the national minimum wage. 

Consultation document and government response
 
NMW amendment regulations 2009


October 2009
National minimum wage
New rates
New law now in force
National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (forthcoming amendments)

Increases to the national minimum wage took effect on 1 October 2009. The adult rate rose to £5.80 per hour, the development rate (for workers aged between 18 and 21) rose to £4.83 and the rate for 16- and 17-year olds rose to £3.57.

NMW amendment regulations 2009


2010/11
National minimum wage
New rights for apprentices
National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (amendments)

The Low Pay Commission has been asked by the government to advise on the rate and detailed arrangements for a minimum wage for apprentices, together with the timing for its introduction. The commission is consulting on the issue and is set to report to the government by the end of February 2010. Currently, apprentices aged 16-to-18, or those aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship, are exempt from the NMW.

Low Pay Commission consultation

BIS press release

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April 2010
Parental rights
Additional paternity leave and pay
Work and Families Act 2006

Following the closure of a consultation in November 2009, various draft regulations to implement the introduction of additional paternity leave and pay have now been published. They will come into force in April 2010, applying to parents of babies due on or after 3 April 2011. The new right will apply where the mother ends her maternity leave early, effectively allowing the father to take the remainder of that leave - up to three months paid at the statutory rate and three months unpaid. Guidance on the new rights is to be put in place before 3 April 2011.

Explanatory memorandum to new regulations

Draft Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010

Draft Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (General) Regulations 2010

Draft Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (Weekly Rates) Regulations 2010

2011
Parental rights
Additional EU maternity rights proposed
Pregnant Workers Directive (proposed amendments)

The European Commission has proposed changes to the 1992 EU Pregnant Workers Directive, with a view to improving minimum maternity rights across all EU member states. The proposals are unlikely to have a significant impact on the UK, whose maternity provisions are already more generous than those proposed. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) issued a consultation document. The consultation closed on 22 June 2009 and the government has said that a summary of the consultation will be published in Spring 2010.

European Commission maternity proposals

Consultation on proposals to amend Pregnant Workers Directive

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April 2010
Statutory pay
Rate increases
New law now in force
Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2010 (forthcoming)

From April 2010, the rates of statutory maternity pay, adoption pay and paternity pay will rise from £123.06 to £124.08 per week. However, statutory sick pay rates will remain unchanged at £79.15 per week.

Secretary of state for work and pensions' statement to Parliament

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2010/11
Time off work
Extension of leave for civic duties
Employment Rights Act 1996, section 50 (forthcoming amendments)

In October 2008, the government issued a consultation on widening the range of civic duties for which employees are entitled to take time off work. It published the responses to the consultation in March 2009 and its own response in October 2009. For the time being, the government intends to work with employer organisations on a 'hearts and minds' campaign, explaining what is involved in volunteering and how this can help businesses.

Consultation on time-off entitlements

Standing for office: time-off entitlements

Government response to consultation

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April 2010
Training
Right to request time off
Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009

From April 2010, employees in businesses employing 250 people or more will have a new right to request unpaid time off work to undertake training that they think will make them more effective at work and improve business performance. The law will be extended to all employers, regardless of their size, in 2011.

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009

The New Right to Request Time to Train (BIS leaflet)

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February 2010
Tribunals 
Reduction in compensation limit
New law now in force
Employment Rights (Revision of Limits) Order 2009

The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal went down from £66,200 to £65,300 on 1 February 2010. The reduction reflects a decrease of 1.4 per cent in the Retail Price Index from September 2008 to September 2009. The statutory limit on weekly pay, used to calculate statutory redundancy pay and the basic award for unfair dismissal, was increased from £350 to £380 in October 2009 and will remain at that figure until February 2011 at the earliest.

Employment Rights (Revision of Limits) Order 2009


April 2010
Tribunals
New procedure for whistleblowing claims
Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2004 (proposed amendments)

From April, whistleblowing claimants will be able to tick a box on the ET1 tribunal claim form indicating whether they want the employment tribunal to pass on any allegations involving protected disclosures to the relevant regulatory body. This change is set out in draft regulations published by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (Bis) in its response to a consultation on employment tribunal claims and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. The change will affect claims arising on or after 6 April 2010.

Bis consultation on employment tribunal claims and the Public Interest Disclosure Act

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April 2010
Unions and employee representation
Union blacklisting to be outlawed
Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 (draft)

Regulations outlawing the blacklisting of workers for their trade union membership or activities have now been put before Parliament. Subject to parliamentary approval, they will come into force in April 2010. It will be unlawful to compile, use, sell or supply "prohibited lists" of workers, except in certain circumstances, and workers have the right not to suffer detrimental treatment or dismissal for a reason connected to a prohibited list. Bis has issued guidance on the new regulations.

Draft Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010

Bis guidance

April 2011
Unions and employee representation
Changes to European Works Councils
European Works Council Directive 2009

Amendments have been made to the directive on European works councils (EWC), designed to reduce uncertainty and increase the number of EWCs. EU member states, including the UK, have until 5 June 2011 to implement the revised directive.

The government carried out an initial consultation in 2008. A further consultation document on how the UK should implement the changes, including draft regulations, was published in November 2009. The deadline for responses was 12 February 2010.

Consultation on implementing revised EWC Directive

European Works Councils directive (as amended)

Consultation on European Works Council directive changes

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2011
Working time
EU discussions on future of opt-out
Working Time Directive (proposed amendments)

European discussions on proposed changes to the EU directive have been ongoing for some time, including the scope for workers to opt-out from the maximum average 48-hour working week and whether or not time spent “on call” should be treated as working time. This could have potentially led to significant changes to the UK working time laws in due course. However, in April 2009, the negotiations came to an end without agreement being reached. The European Commission will now consider whether to draft fresh proposals to amend the directive. In the meantime, the existing directive remains in force in its current form. 

The commission is planning to publish a consultation paper in early 2010, with a view to reopening negotiations between EU social partners on reforming the directive.

European parliament press release

BERR press release

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Compiled by Lewis Silkin LLP