Time is running out!

1 October is fast approaching, bringing with it a number of significant changes for the workplace. We highlight below the key changes that all employers should be preparing for, irrespective of size or sector.

Dawn of a new age...

There are now less than 10 days to go until the long-awaited legislation outlawing discrimination on the grounds of age come into force.

Requiring major cultural changes within most organisations, the new Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 will prohibit discrimination in employment, impose a national default retirement age of 65 and give employees the right to ask to continue working after they are due to retire.

Most employers are aware of the raft of changes that will be required within the workplace but, as we countdown to 1 October, it is vital that age-related issues are addressed, right from recruitment and selection through to dismissal and retirement.

...but pension provisions delayed

It has recently been announced that the pension provisions in the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 will not come into force now until 1 December 2006. The additional two month period has been provided in response to concerns voiced by employers and the industry and is intended to allow further time to get to grips with the changes. A short informal consultation period will also take place, to assess whether any amendments should be made to the regulations.

Family friendly legislation

Under the Work and Families Act 2006, a number of family-friendly provisions are due to come into force on 1 October 2006, affecting those employees whose expected week of childbirth is on or after 1 April 2007 (or, where adoption applies, where the placement is expected to occur on or after this date). Here is a summary of the changes:

• The qualifying period for additional maternity leave will be removed so that all pregnant employees will be entitled to 52 weeks' maternity leave, irrespective of their length of service.
• Employees will be required to give 8 weeks' notice if they wish to change their return date from maternity or adoption leave periods. Currently, the required notice period is 28 days.
• Employees on maternity or adoption leave will be able to agree with their employer to work for up to 10 days without bringing that leave period to an end. Work will include training or any activity undertaken for the purposes of keeping in touch with the workplace. Similarly, an employee and employer will also be able to make reasonable contact during a leave period without bringing that period to an end.
• The period of statutory maternity and adoption pay will be extended from 26 to 39 weeks, and will be extended further to 52 weeks by around 2010.

From April 2007, the right to request flexible working (which currently applies to employees with parental responsibility for a child under the age of 6 (or, where the child is disabled, 18)), is also due to be extended to employees caring for adults.

One of the most significant proposals under the Work and Families Act 2006 is the aim to provide employees with a new entitlement to additional paternity leave and additional paternity pay. It is proposed that the new additional paternity leave scheme will be introduced at the same time as statutory maternity pay and adoption pay are extended to 52 weeks. However, until the final regulations are published, it remains unclear how employers will administer this new entitlement.

New collective redundancy regulations

The Collective Redundancies (Amendment) Regulations 2006 come into force on 1 October 2006. The Regulations clarify that employers must notify the Secretary of State of proposed collective redundancies before notice of termination is given to employees, in accordance with the ECJ's decision in Junk v Kühnel. Click here to access the Regulations.

National minimum wage rise

The differing rates of the national minimum wage are due to increase on 1 October 2006. The national minimum wage is currently set at £3.00 per hour for workers aged 16 and 17; £4.25 for those aged 18 to 21; and £5.05 for those aged 22 and over. From 1 October, these rates will increase to £3.30 for those aged 16 and 17; £4.45 for those aged 18 to 21; and £5.35 for those aged 22 and over.

Other developments

Clandestine recordings

The EAT has handed down an important decision in Chairman and Governors of Amwell View School v Dogherty, which will have an impact on future disciplinary and appeal hearings.

Mrs Dogherty was a teaching assistant and meals supervisor, who was dismissed following the operation of a disciplinary procedure and an unsuccessful appeal to the governors. She had recording the hearings that took place without the knowledge of anyone present. During one such hearing, both the open part of the hearing and the private deliberations of the panel were recorded.

When Mrs Dogherty claimed unfair dismissal, she sought to rely on the recordings and transcripts. The EAT ruled that admitting clandestine recordings of disciplinary and appeal hearings would not be an infringement of human rights. However, the EAT did hold that there was an important public interest in parties before disciplinary and appeal hearings maintaining the "ground rules" in relation to the privacy of private deliberations, and Mrs Dogherty's transcripts of these were therefore not permitted.

Content of Step 1 dismissal letter

The EAT has provided useful guidance on the requirements of Step 1 of the dismissal and disciplinary procedure in Draper v Mears Ltd.

Under Step 1 of the procedure, an employer must set out in writing the employee's alleged conduct, characteristics, or other circumstances which lead him to contemplate dismissing or taking disciplinary action against the employee, and send the statement to the employee, inviting him to attend a meeting to discuss the matter.

In this case, the Step 1 letter was short. It referred to the fact that disciplinary action would be considered at a meeting and listed the particular issues in brief. The EAT relied on the approach taken by the EAT in relation to grievance letters and confirmed that the letter did comply with the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures. The EAT also noted that where the words of the Step 1 letter are ambiguous or the Tribunal is doubtful as to whether the words of that document are sufficient, the Tribunal will be entitled to look at the whole context in order to resolve any such ambiguity or doubt.

Updated DTI guidance on working time

Following the ECJ's decision in Commission v United Kingdom that DTI guidance on rest breaks does not comply with the Working Time Directive (reported in our update on 8 September), the DTI has now made a small change to its guidance, and removed the wording which indicated that employers are not required to ensure that workers take their rest. Click here to view the updated guidance.

Updated ACAS guidance

ACAS has updated its guidance on a number of employment law issues, including age discrimination, flexible working, internet and e-mail policies, discipline and grievances at work and redundancy handling. Click here to access the updated guidance.

Moving on up?

The Equal Opportunities Commission has published a report following its investigation into the opportunities in the workplace for Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean women. The early findings indicate that women from these groups are more likely than white women to be unemployed, less likely to be in senior roles and potentially face a bigger gender pay gap. The report aims to identify ways in which employment opportunities could be improved.

Click here to view the report.

Chair of CEHR

Trevor Phillips, the current chair of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), has been appointed as chair of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR).

The CEHR will come into operation in October 2007, bringing together the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission, the CRE, and the Disability Rights Commission in a single body, with additional responsibility for the newer "strands" of discrimination (sexual orientation, religion or belief and age) plus human rights.