Employment Law changes from April 2009
15-04-2009 15:48 by Ian Shotliff
What's changed?
- Minimum statutory holiday entitlement increased from 24 to 28 days for full-time staff and pro-rata for part-time staff. This is the final step in the government’s pledge to recognise the eight bank and public holidays as additional days off to the standard 20 days’ leave.
- The right to request flexible working extended from carers of adults or parents of a child under six or a disabled child under 18 to parents of children up to the age of 16. Employers have a duty to consider such requests and can only reject them on business grounds.
- The weekly rate for statutory sick pay increased from £75.40 to £79.15, and the weekly payment for those on maternity, paternity or adoption leave from £117.18 to £123.06. Employees who take additional maternity leave beyond six months are now entitled to the same non-monetary contractual benefits as those on ordinary leave.
- The three-step statutory dispute resolution procedure has been scrapped to allow more flexibility for employers and conciliation service Acas to intervene in disputes. The old system was criticised for being too geared towards resolving workplace disputes in court, rather than early on in the workplace.
- The revised statutory Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance procedures has been introduced. Where there is a breach of the code, a tribunal can increase or decrease any award made by up to 25%.
- The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 came into force. The transferor is required to provide information in circumstances where the new Acas code applies, rather than where the statutory dispute resolution procedures apply.