Agenda 2011: Employment law key dates
Among the key employment law changes in 2011 are: the abolition of the default retirement age (with transitional arrangements from April in advance of its repeal in October); the introduction of additional paternity leave and pay; the extension of the right to request flexible working to parents of children under 18; new offences under the Bribery Act 2010; and the enactment of further parts of the Equality Act 2010.
Legislation key dates
JANUARY
National minimum
wage: travel expenses to temporary workplaces no longer
count
From 1 January 2011, expenses for travel to a temporary
workplace can no longer form part of employees' pay for national minimum wage
purposes.
FEBRUARY
New tribunal award
limits come into force
The limit on the amount of the
compensatory award for unfair dismissal increases from £65,300 to £68,400 on 1
February 2011.
APRIL
Transitional
provisions for abolition of default retirement age
From 6 April
2011, employers will be prohibited from issuing new notifications of retirement
using the statutory retirement procedure and notifications issued before this
date must relate only to employees whose retirement dates fall before 1 October
2011.
Right to request
flexible working extended to parents of children aged under
18
On 6 April 2011, the right to request flexible working will
be extended to parents of children aged under 18 (it currently applies to
parents of children aged under 17, or 18 if the child is disabled).
Single public sector
equality duty is introduced
The Equality Act 2010 is being
implemented in stages and more of its provisions are expected to come into force
in April 2011, including the introduction of a single public sector equality
duty on 6 April 2011.
Positive action
provisions in the Equality Act 2010 are enacted
From 6 April
2011, the Equality Act 2010 will allow employers, in defined circumstances, to
recruit or promote a person with one protected characteristic in preference to
another person who does not have the protected characteristic, provided that
they are equally qualified for the post.
Right to make a
request in relation to training may be extended to all
employees
The right for employees to make a request in relation
to study or training, which currently applies to employees in organisations with
250 or more employees, is due to be extended to all employees from 6 April
2011. However, the Government is reviewing the legislation so this
extension is in doubt.
Additional paternity
leave and pay available
Additional paternity leave and pay
allows fathers to benefit from up to 26 weeks' additional paternity leave if the
mother returns to work before using her full entitlement to statutory maternity
leave. The new right is available to parents of children with an expected
week of childbirth beginning on or after 3 April 2011.
New corporate offence
of failing to prevent bribery
The Bribery Act 2010 will
introduce a corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery by persons working
on behalf of a business, which comes into force in April 2011.
Maternity, paternity
and adoption pay are increased
The standard rates of statutory
maternity, paternity and adoption pay will increase from £124.88 to
£128.73 per week from 3 April 2011. Statutory sick pay will also increase
from £79.15 to £81.60 per week from 6 April 2011.
OCTOBER
Default retirement
age is completely abolished
The default retirement age will be
abolished completely after a six-month transitional period, and employers will
be prohibited from retiring employees in reliance on the default retirement age
on or after 1 October 2011.
New rules on equal
treatment for agency workers
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010
will entitle agency workers to equal treatment on basic employment conditions
after 12 calendar weeks in a given job, including pay and holidays, from 1
October 2011.
National minimum wage
may rise
The national minimum wage may rise on 1 October 2011,
subject to the prevailing economic conditions and the Low Pay Commission's
recommendations to be delivered to the Government in February 2011.
Consultations 2011
Consultations that remain open in the first months of 2011 include: directors' remuneration; removing legal aid for employment claims; and the reform of the PAYE system. The Government has announced that in early 2011 it will consult on extending the right to request flexible working and increasing the flexibility of parental leave. It is expected that the Government will announce the outcome of its review into the vetting and barring scheme in early 2011.
CONSULTATIONS STILL OPEN IN 2011
Directors' remuneration
The
Government is consulting on arrangements to address the conflict faced by
directors in setting their own pay. Shareholders have the power to
influence directors' remuneration, but directors' pay does not match company
performance.
Withdrawal of legal
aid for employment claims
The Government is consulting on
proposals to remove legal aid for most employment claims in England and
Wales.
Reform of the PAYE
system
The Government is consulting on the reform of the PAYE
system. It is introducing "real time information", a scheme that will
enable HM Revenue and Customs to collect information about tax and other
deductions each time an employer pays its employees.
CONSULTATIONS EXPECTED IN 2011
Flexible parental
leave
The Government has announced that it intends to introduce
a new system of flexible parental leave because leave options for families are
too rigid.
Extending the scope
of flexible working
The Government has announced that it intends
to extend the right to request flexible working, because it considers that
treating employees equally means dealing with them as individuals, rather than
on the basis of their caring responsibilities.
Future of the vetting
and barring scheme
In June 2010, the coalition Government
announced its intention to review the vetting and barring scheme to take it back
to "proportionate and common sense levels". It commenced the review in
October 2010 and is expected to make an announcement on the future of the scheme
in 2011.