The Government has announced that it
intends to take steps to amend the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less
Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 so that agency workers on contracts of
less than three months are not excluded from statutory sick
pay.
The statutory entitlement to paid holiday increases from
24 days to 28 days. The Regulations that bring
this into force can be viewed on the OPSI website.
More from XpertHR on this item: Personnel Today; Employment Review
The Employment Bill, which was published in December
2007, repeals the statutory dispute resolution procedures set out in the
Employment Act 2002, sections 29 to 33 and Schedules 2 to 4. It also repeals the
Employment Rights Act 1996, section 98A, returning the law on unfair dismissal
to the position prior to the dispute resolution procedures coming into force in
October 2004. The Bill
(PDF format, 144K) can be viewed on the Parliament
website.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act will
introduce a centralised vetting system for people banned from working with
children and vulnerable adults. Employers will be able to make checks online,
with information updated straight away when any individual is added to the list.
Employers will be informed where possible if an individual becomes barred. There
will be fines of up to £5,000 for employers that knowingly employ individuals on
the list or fail to make the relevant checks. The Act
can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.
The Government intends to allow fathers to benefit from
up to 26 weeks' paid 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. The Work and
Families Act 2006, which will bring this provision into force,
can be viewed on the OPSI website.
The number of years' contribution required to achieve a
full basic state pension reduces to 30 years for both men and women. The Pensions Act 2007,
which brings this change into force, can be viewed on the OPSI
website.
The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Control of Noise at Work)
Regulations 2007 implement Directive 2003/10/EC on the minimum health and
safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from
physical agents (noise). In relation to sea-going ships, regulation 7(4)
and (5) comes into force on 6 April 2011. The Regulations can be
viewed on the OPSI website.
The Pensions Act 2007 raises the state pension age from
65 to 66 years to reflect the ageing nature of the population. The Act can be viewed
on the OPSI website.
The Pensions Act 2007 raises the state pension age from
66 to 67 years to reflect the ageing nature of the population. The Act can be viewed
on the OPSI website.