Key Changes to Employment Law 2011

Key Change to Employment Law in 2011 There are a number of changes to employment law in 2011. These include:

retirement agency workers bribery equality maternity and paternity Set out below are some of the changes of which you need to be aware. 1: Phasing out of the default retirement age Using a default retirement age (DRA) will be against the law from October 2011. Employers could face court action if they continue to use a default retirement age. A DRA can still be used until October 2011 but the employee must have been told before the 6th of April and have a retirement date due before October 2011. 2: Right to request flexible working extensions As of October 2011, parents with children under the age of 18 will have the right to ask for flexible working hours. In January 2011, the government will discuss the rights of all employees to ask for flexible working hours. The Government will complete discussions by March 2011 and plan to review the responses by December 2011. 3: Changes to maternity and paternity leave In April 2011 there will be two changes effecting maternity and paternity leave. On the 3rd of April 2011, rates for statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay will increase. The rate will rise from £124.88 to £128.73 per week. If the mother returns to work before using her full statutory maternity leave fathers will be allowed up to 26 weeks extra paternity leave. This applies where the expected date of birth is the week beginning on, or after 3rd April 2011. 4: Equal Treatment for Agency Workers Agency workers are entitled to equal treatment on conditions such as pay and holidays but only if they have been with an employee for over 12 weeks. This takes effect from the 1st October 2011. 5: Equality act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 means employers can take action to improve the balance of their workforce in respect of people with a -œprotected characteristic-. The act lets employers treat those with -œprotected characteristics- more favourably when making recruitment and promotion decisions. 6: Bribery Act 2010: corporate offence introduced As of April 2011 failing to prevent bribery by people working on behalf of the business will be a corporate offence. The Bribery Act 2010 will introduce the new offence. Paul Hajduk is the Managing Director of PAYdata Ltd which offers a range of creative solutions to meet a company’s unique reward requirements. Visit www.paydata.co.uk to discover their complete range of services including help on managing your pay review.

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Employment Law, retirement, agency workers, bribery, equality, maternity, paternity,

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