There will be a number of new pieces of legislation from April 2009. However, the extension of the right to request flexible working to parents of children up to age 16, which was expected to come into force from April, has not been announced and it sounds as though this will be put on hold during the economic downturn considering all the other pressures on business owners. Also on hold for the time being is the proposed extension to maternity leave to 12 months and additional paternity leave and pay which are all on hold until 2010.
Statutory Sick Pay and Statutory Maternity Pay have both been increased in line with the government's proposals to £79.15 and £123.06 respectively.
The annual holiday entitlement, in accordance with the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007, has also been increased to 5.6weeks which is 28 days annually for a 5 day working week. This takes effect from 1 April 2009. It's important however to note that there is no statutory right to take Bank or Public Holidays paid or unpaid so this new statutory holiday entitlement would potentially include those days as well. It would be good management practice to inform employees, in writing, of their statutory holiday entitlement. See copy template letter to send to staff at the end of this article. The ability to pay workers in lieu of the extra days (i.e. those above the old entitlement of 4 weeks/ 20 days), which applied from 1 October 2007, will cease to apply from 1 April, so your employees will have to take at least 5.6 weeks’ holiday in each leave year.
Another change will be the eagerly awaited repeal of the statutory dispute resolution procedures which the Employment Act 2008 repeals in their entirety and instead introduces the new ACAS code for disciplinary and grievance procedures. Dismissals will not be automatically unfair if the new ACAS code is not complied with however the employment tribunal can still increase or decrease awards by up to 25% based on the reasonableness of complying or otherwise of the code. What should be borne in mind though is that there will be a transitional period continuing to use the current procedure and in some cases, though probably not too many, it could apply to grievances until October 2009.
Another change will be the eagerly awaited repeal of the statutory dispute resolution procedures which the Employment Act 2008 repeals in their entirety and instead introduces the new ACAS code for disciplinary and grievance procedures. Dismissals will not be automatically unfair if the new ACAS code is not complied with however the employment tribunal can still increase or decrease awards by up to 25% based on the reasonableness of complying or otherwise of the code. What should be borne in mind though is that there will be a transitional period continuing to use the current procedure and in some cases, though probably not too many, it could apply to grievances until October 2009.
Minimum Wage - Employers who are found to underpay the minimum wage will face a penalty of 50% of the underpayment for such underpayments on or after 6 April 2009. There is a minimum penalty of £100 and maximum of £5000. A discount of 50% will be given if the penalty is paid within 14 days of receiving the HMRC Notice of Underpayment and they will have to repay the arrears to the worker/s at the current rate of NMW applicable when the repayment is to be made.
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Increased holiday entitlement - template for letter to staff
Dear ___________,
Your holiday entitlement will increase from 1 April 2009, following changes to employment legislation.
Your leave year runs from [insert month] to [insert month], and for the leave year [insert month] to [insert month] [2009/10] your holiday entitlement will be ___ [days/hours] (based on ___ weeks of _ days).
For the following leave year, [insert month] to [insert month] [2010/11], your holiday entitlement will be ___ [days/hours] (based on ___ weeks of _ days).
This holiday entitlement is inclusive of any time off for bank and public holidays.
Yours,
Dear ___________,
Your holiday entitlement will increase from 1 April 2009, following changes to employment legislation.
Your leave year runs from [insert month] to [insert month], and for the leave year [insert month] to [insert month] [2009/10] your holiday entitlement will be ___ [days/hours] (based on ___ weeks of _ days).
For the following leave year, [insert month] to [insert month] [2010/11], your holiday entitlement will be ___ [days/hours] (based on ___ weeks of _ days).
This holiday entitlement is inclusive of any time off for bank and public holidays.
Yours,
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Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.
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