Forthcoming legislative
changes
1 October often
heralds a number of changes in employment law and
this year is no different. Here are the key
forthcoming changes to note:
-
The Commission for
Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) will be
established, to provide a single equality body,
merging the Equal Opportunities Commission, the
Commission for Racial Equality and the
Disability Rights Commission. The CEHR will also
have additional responsibility for the newer
"strands" of discrimination (sexual orientation,
religion or belief and age), plus human
rights.
-
The first stage of
the increase in statutory annual leave
entitlement will take place, with entitlement
increasing from 20 to 24 days (see our
earlier
update).
-
The principal rate
of the national minimum wage will increase from
£5.35 per hour to £5.52. For workers aged 18-21,
the hourly rate will rise from £4.45 to £4.60
and for workers below the age of 18 who have
ceased to be of compulsory school age, the
hourly rate will rise from £3.30 to
£3.40.
Extension of time for
claimant who could not acknowledge
disability
The Court of Appeal
has upheld the decision of a Tribunal that it was
just and equitable to allow a disability
discrimination claim to proceed after the expiry
of the three-month time limit.
In Department of
Constitutional Affairs v Jones, the claimant
had been reluctant to acknowledge that he was so
mentally ill as to be disabled, irrespective of
medical advice and correspondence from his
solicitor and union which referred to him having a
disability under the Disability Discrimination Act
1995.
The Tribunal had
noted that the respondent had proceeded with its
internal disciplinary proceedings despite medical
evidence that the claimant was unfit to attend.
The claimant's dismissal meant that time starting
to run a good deal sooner that it otherwise would
have in normal circumstances. This therefore
reduced the time that the claimant had to decide
whether he had a disability.
The Court of Appeal
emphasised that its decision was far from stating
any general principle that a person with mental
health problems is entitled to delay bringing a
claim as a matter of course. However, the Chairman
of the Tribunal was entitled to reach the
conclusion he did on the particular facts and
combination of circumstances present in this
case.
New package for vulnerable
workers
Business and
Enterprise Secretary, John Hutton, has announced a
raft of new measures to crack down on rogue
employers who exploit vulnerable workers.
The measures are due
to include:
-
higher maximum
fines for employers who do not pay the National
Minimum Wage and twice as much spent enforcing
payment
-
double the number
of inspectors who crack down on abuses in
employment agencies, plus tougher powers to get
evidence and unlimited penalties for those they
catch
John Hutton has
called for a new partnership between Government
and unions, including a new £3 million fund
targeted at equipping unions to help vulnerable
workers.
Drug and alcohol use
significant cause of lost productivity
Four out of ten
employers believe alcohol misuse is a significant
cause of employee absence and lost productivity,
according to new research
from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD) and People Management
magazine.
Despite the
potentially damaging impact of drug and alcohol
misuse at work, about four in ten of the 500
organisations surveyed had no policy in place to
help them manage this problem. The survey also
found that employers could do more to support
employees with substance dependency problems, with
only 38 per cent of employers providing
co-ordinated rehabilitation support to help
individuals with drug or alcohol problems return
to work after treatment. Only a half of employers
provide access to counselling or to occupational
health services for employees fighting drink or
drug problems.
Mothers denied flexible
working...
About nine out of 10
mothers find it difficult to get a job with
sufficient flexibility when they want to return to
work, according to a survey by WorkingMums.
Of the 600 people
surveyed, 90 per cent said they found it hard to
find flexible work. More than half (55 per cent)
said that they would prefer to work from home with
only 6 per cent saying that this did not appeal to
them.
The issue of
childcare featured heavily in the report, with 95
per cent saying it was "very expensive" and 43 per
cent paying more than £250 a month in childcare
fees. 74 per cent of respondents said they felt
guilty about leaving children in childcare while
they worked and 61 per cent were concerned that
their children would suffer as a
result.
...but there are still
disadvantages to flexible working
A survey of more than
1,400 workers for Orange Business Services (OBS)
has revealed that 40 per cent of those who work
flexibly do not have increased leisure time or
quality time with their families.
The survey, Beyond
Boundaries, discovered that 45 per cent of the
workers surveyed believed that flexible working
means working more during their free time,
evenings and weekends. The responses suggest
that many people are working longer hours for less
money. However, 50 per cent of employees think the
option to work flexibly is a key factor in
choosing their next job.
Why people quit
I-resign.com, a
website providing resignation advice and
information, has announced the results from its
2007 survey about why people leave their jobs.
In the UK alone (with
over 32,000 survey respondents), 45.5 per cent
said that they would continue working in their
existing industry but an above-average 29.98 per
cent changed sectors entirely. Further, 7 per cent
quit work to go back to education and learn new
skills, 5.36 per cent decided to go travelling and
2 per cent left their jobs to have a baby. Over 5
per cent opted to start their own businesses.
According to reports
of the survey:
-
New Zealanders are
the biggest travellers: 12.39 per cent leave
work to go abroad
-
Indians travel
least (3.23 per cent) followed by Americans
(3.26 per cent)
-
Canadians and
Australians are in the first and second
positions for starting new businesses: 9.51 per
cent and 9.23 per cent
respectively