Autumn Employment Law Changes
From 1 October 2015 a number of employment law provisions took effect, the most significant ones are set out below.
Deregulation Act 2015
This Act introduced the following changes:
- Repeal of the power enabling Employment Tribunals to make wider recommendations in discrimination cases (i.e. that employers take steps to reduce the effects of the discrimination the proceedings relate to in relation to individuals other than the successful Claimant); and
- The right for Sikhs to wear a turban instead of a safety helmet is expanded to cover almost all workplaces. There are limited exceptions in relation to certain roles such as in the military and emergency services.
National Minimum Wage Levels
The national minimum wage hourly rates increased. The new rates are:
- Standard adult rate (for workers aged 21+) – £6.70
- Development rate (for workers aged between 18 and 20) – £5.30
- Young worker rate (for workers aged 18 and under but over compulsory school age and who are not apprentices) –£3.87
- Apprentice rate – £3.30.
It should not be over-looked, as employers make plans for the New Year, that the new mandatory national living wage, for workers aged 25+ is expected to take effect in April 2016 and initially will be £7.20 per hour.
Shared Parental Leave and Pay for Grandparents
On 5 October 2015, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a plan to extend shared parental leave and pay to working grandparents. The plan is intended to increase flexibility and provide support for working parents during the first year of a child’s life. The government’s aim is to introduce the arrangements by 2018 following a consultation process next year.
The plan takes account of statistics which show that around 2 million grandparents have given up work, reduced their hours or taken time off work to help with childcare costs in particular.
The extension of shared parental leave and pay will be a significant and undoubtedly welcome development in the extension of flexible working arrangements. We will keep you up-dated on the developments in this interesting area.
Trade Union Bill
The controversial Trade Union Bill, which would make significant amendments to the current law relating to unions/union activities received its second reading in the House of Commons in the middle of September 2015 and is now scheduled to be considered by a Public Bill Committee at the end of October 2015.
The Bill includes provisions to reform trade union law in the following key areas:
- the introduction of thresholds in strike action ballots requiring at least 50% of all eligible members to have voted (this is in addition to the current requirement that a majority of voting members must vote in favour). Further for those providing important public services (including health services), it will also be necessary that those voting in favour represent at least 40% of those members who are eligible to vote;
- an increase in the notice unions are required to give employers about industrial action from 7 to 14 days;
- a 4 month time limit following a ballot in which strike action must occur;
- a requirement for pickets to be supervised by a named official;
- voting papers should identify the dispute and the type/duration of proposed industrial action; and
- a requirement that unions must provide more detailed information to members about ballot results.
It is not anticipated that the Bill will become law until next Spring at the earliest, although the mooted plan to lift the ban on the use of agency workers during strike action could take effect earlier, as the government has the ability to introduce this reform via current legislative provisions. If the Bill becomes law it will have a potentially significant impact for public sector organisations whose employees are more likely to be trade union members. We will provide updates on this key area of reform in a future newsbriefs as the Bill progresses.
Sexual Orientation Discrimination – Pension case
The Court of Appeal has ruled that pension plans can restrict the entitlement of a surviving civil partner to their spouse’s pension to periods of service from 5 December 2005, which is the date from which same sex couples have been able to enter into civil partnerships.
In this conjoined case Mr Walker (a member of his former employer’s defined benefit company pension scheme) sought to argue that the exemption from discrimination legislation, which allows for restrictions on the rights of civil partners’ to access benefits accrued prior to 5 December 2005 was unlawful (i.e. less favourable treatment in the form of direct (sexual orientation) discrimination, as well as a human rights breach). However, the Court of Appeal disagreed and held that Mr Walker’s husband (via a civil partnership) could not enjoy the same substantial (survivor’s) pension rights a wife would enjoy in respect of the period before civil partnerships were legally recognised and Court concluded that Mr Walker and his partner were not victims of discrimination (less favourable treatment in comparison to a married couple)/human rights violations.
The decision may be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Click here to read our newsbrief in full.
Continue reading other articles: When are statutory collective consultation provisions triggered? Agency worker rights clarification, Update on the fees regime: How far will the Government go? Less favourable treatment of fixed-term workers can span different contracts, Who is an appropriate companion at an investigatory meeting? It’s not always black and [Mr] White – TUPE update.