Employment Law Changes 2013

New tribunal award limits come into force
1 February 2013

The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2012 (SI 2012/3007) increases the limits applying to certain employment tribunal awards and other amounts payable under employment legislation, including the maximum amount of a week’s pay for the purpose of calculating a redundancy payment or the basic award of compensation for unfair dismissal. The order applies where the event that gives rise to the entitlement to the payment occurs on or after 1 February 2013. The order can be viewed on the UK legislation website.

Portable DBS checks introduced
March 2013

Once a Disclosure and Barring Service (previously Criminal Records Bureau) check has been conducted, the results will be available online to enable employers to confirm that no new information has been added since the check was originally made. This means that an employee will not have to obtain a new check each time he or she starts a new job. The amendments to the scheme were announced by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable.

Third-party harassment provisions in Equality Act repealed
March 2013

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill repeals s.40(2) to (4) of the Equality Act 2010, which provides that the employer will, in certain circumstances, be liable where an individual is harassed by a third party. The provisions that provide for the repeal are contained in notice of amendments to the Bill, which can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Tribunal procedure in discrimination cases amended
March 2013

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill repeals s.138 of the Equality Act 2010, which sets out the procedure that enables an individual to obtain information from the employer about discrimination and provides for the information to be used as evidence in tribunal proceedings. It also introduces a provision that requires employment tribunals to order an equal pay audit where the employer has breached the equal pay provisions under the Equality Act 2010, except in prescribed circumstances. The provisions relating to the obtaining information procedure and equal pay audits are contained in notice of amendments to the Bill, which can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Parental leave increases from three to four months
8 March 2013

The Parental Leave Directive (2010/18/EU) (PDF format, 743K) (on the Europa website) repeals and replaces the Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EC). The draft Parental Leave (EU Directive) Regulations 2013 (on the UK legislation website) make the relevant changes to UK legislation, including increasing the permitted period of parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child from three to four months. The right to request flexible working is extended to agency workers returning from a period of parental leave.

Whistleblowing legislation amended
April 2013

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill amends s.43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996. A disclosure will not be protected unless the employee reasonably believes that the disclosure is made in the public interest. The Bill can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Rapid resolution scheme introduced
April 2013

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (on the UK Parliament website) introduces the concept of "legal officers", who may determine specified types of employment tribunal claims if all parties to a dispute consent in writing. The Government's intention to introduce a "rapid resolution" scheme, as a quicker and cheaper alternative for resolving low-value straightforward employment disputes, was announced in its response to the consultation on resolving workplace disputes (PDF format, 364K).

Judges hear appeal cases alone
April 2013

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill prescribes that proceedings before the Employment Appeal Tribunal will be heard by a judge sitting alone, unless a judge directs otherwise. The Bill can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Employee-owner contract introduced
April 2013

The "employee-owner" contract, a new type of employment contract, is introduced. Employee-owners will be given between £2,000 and £50,000 of shares in the business, which will be exempt from capital gains tax, in exchange for foregoing certain employment rights. Employee-owners would not have the "ordinary" unfair dismissal protection after two years' continuous service. Employee owners would be unable to make statutory requests to work flexibly or in relation to study or training, and would not be protected against dismissal for making either of these statutory requests, except in relation to a flexible working request on return from parental leave. Employee-owners would not be eligible for statutory redundancy pay, and would also have to give 16 weeks' notice to return early from maternity or adoption leave, as compared with eight weeks for employees.

Statutory sick pay increases
6 April 2013

The standard rate of statutory sick pay increases from £85.85 to £86.70 per week. The increase normally takes place on 6 April. Information on the new rate (PDF format, 92K) can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Collective redundancy consultation period reduces to 45 days
6 April 2013

The minimum period for collective redundancy consultation where an employer is proposing to dismiss as redundant 100 or more employees, under s.188(1A) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, is reduced from 90 days to 45 days. Acas introduces a non-statutory code of practice to guide consultation. Also, fixed-term contracts that have reached their agreed termination date are excluded from the requirement to consult collectively.

Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay increase
7 April 2013

The rate of statutory maternity pay, ordinary and additional statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay increases from £135.45 to £136.78 per week. The increase normally takes place on the first Sunday in April. Information on the new rates (PDF format, 92K) can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Basic state pension increases
8 April 2013

The basic state pension increases from £107.45 to £110.15 per week. The increase normally takes place on the first Monday after 6 April. Information on the increase (PDF format, 92K) can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Directive on protection of healthcare workers must be implemented
11 May 2013

Member states must implement legislation that gives increased protection to health care workers by 11 May 2013. The increased protection includes provision to prevent injuries caused by sharp objects.

 

The above information is based upon information gathered from various sources. We would suggest seeking the advice of a relevant specialist if you require further information regarding the aforementioned changes in employment law.