New Employment Legislation Now in Force - October 2008
13th October 2008
October 2008 brought with it a number of key changes to employment law.
Increases to the minimum wage - National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2008.
From 1 October 2008 workers aged 22 and over will see their hourly rate increase from £5.52 to £5.73. Those aged 18 - 21 will see an increase from £4.60 to £4.77 and for workers under 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age, the rate will rise from £3.40 to £3.53.
Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations 2008.
From 1 October 2008 employers are no longer required to keep a copy of their employer liability insurance certificate for 40 years. The Regulations also provide that an employer is no longer required to physically display the certificate, as long as the certificate is available electronically and can be accessed by the relevant employees.
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2008.
The Regulations give women whose expected week of childbirth begins on or after 5 October 2008 the right to the same terms and conditions during additional maternity leave as those given during ordinary maternity leave. This means that employers are under an obligation to provide their employees with the same terms and conditions over the entire 52 week maternity leave period as those given for the duration of ordinary maternity leave (the first 26 weeks). As a result of these changes amendments have also been made to the Maternity and Parental Leave etc and the Paternity and Adoption Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2008 to extend the period employees are entitled to benefits to additional maternity or adoption leave.
Sick pay for agency workers - Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less FavourableTreatment) (Amendment) Regulations 2008.
From 27 October 2008 agency workers who are working under a fixed-term contract will be entitled to statutory sick pay from their employer.
For more information, please contact:
Glasgow: Paul Brown or Michael McLaughlin - tel: 0141 228 8000
Edinburgh: Alan Strain - tel: 0131 226 5541
The information contained in this article is given for general information only and does not constitute legal advice on any specific matter.