If protected conversations are introduced, employers may fear that an employee will later maintain that the reason for the conversation was because of a protected category such as age, sex or disability. Whether protected conversations survive consultation remains to be seen.
Compromise agreements will also be examined in a further consultation to review whether they are unnecessarily complicated and whether they should be amended so that all existing and future claims are covered. Compromise agreements are widely used to avoid tribunal claims and to protect both the employer and the employee’s reputation so simplifying their use may be an attractive option for both parties.
INCREASES IN AWARDS
There is some good news for claimants. Tribunal awards were increased on 1st February 2012. The maximum award for an unfair dismissal claim has been increased from £68,400 to £72,300 for dismissals that occur on or after 1st February 2012. The maximum limit on a week’s pay has also been increased from £400 to £430. Rates of statutory maternity pay, adoption pay and paternity pay rose from £128.73 to £135.45 per week from 9th April 2012. Statutory sick pay has increased from £81.60 to £85.85 per week.
BEYOND APRIL PENSION AUTO-ENROLMENT
From 1st October 2012 employers will face new duties in relation to employee pensions. In particular, auto- enrolment of employees into qualifying pension
schemes will begin with the aim being to ensure that employees do not miss out on valuable pension benefits offered by employers.
Auto-enrolment will be staged with the largest employers first (120,000 or more employees) in October 2012 and will continue in stages with small employers with 50 or less employees joining between 1st June 2015 and 1st April 2017.
New employers set up between April 2012 and September 2017 will have staging dates between May 2017 and February 2018.
Employers can choose the qualifying scheme they use, but it must meet minimum standards in respect of the benefits it provides or the amount of contributions paid into it. Employers will have to either make a minimum 3% contribution towards a defined benefit scheme or offer membership of a defined benefit scheme.
Auto-enrolment will cover workers aged between 22 and state pension age and who earn above the income tax personal allowance (£8,105 in 2012/13). Contributions will be payable on earnings between £5,035 and £33,540. Employees who have been automatically enrolled can opt out of the scheme.
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
In April the Low Pay Commission was due to present its report to the Government with its
recommendations for the now annual revision of the National Minimum Wage in October 2012. The report will be available from
http://www.lowpay.gov.uk/.
PARENTAL LEAVE The EU Parental Leave Directive was adopted in March
2010 and increases parental leave from three to four months. The increase is unlikely to have a major impact in the UK, since statutory parental leave is unpaid and it is relatively uncommon for employees to take it. The Government has indicated that implementation will take place in March 2013. Given the raft of proposed and implemented changes to employment law introduced by this Government, it certainly can’t be accused of sitting on its laurels in the area of employment. It will be interesting to see what proposals survive consultation and whether the changes implemented achieve the desired results.
SUMMARY
• Unfair dismissal qualifying period has increased from • one to two years from 6th April 2012 • The Government is consulting on two alternative • methods of charging for access to Employment • Tribunals
• An increase in the maximum ‘deposit’ a claimant can • be ordered to pay when bringing a weak claim • A doubling, from 6th April 2012, of the costs that • can be awarded against either side for pursuing • vexatious claims
• Possible introduction of ‘protected conversations’ to • encourage frank discussions between parties • Consultation on change to ‘compromise agreements’ • Increase from 1st February to maximum awards for • tribunal claims
• Auto-enrolment into qualifying pension schemes • from 1st October 2012
• Increases to the National Minimum Wage in October • 2012
• The implementation of a new parental leave • directive in March 2013
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Erotic Trade Only June 2012
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