Key Employment Changes 2009
08 December 2008
Scheduled for 2009 are several new pieces of legislation and amendments to old legislation, these particularly focus on promoting equality and revisions to statutory processes.
- A Bill to promote equality, fight discrimination and introduce transparency in the workplace to help address the difference in pay between men and women.
- The extension of the right to request flexible working patterns to parents with children up to the age of 16 will go ahead as planned in April.
- A new Equality Bill designed to make the UK’s discrimination legislative framework clearer.
- A renewed commitment to introduce legislation boosting the workplace rights of agency workers.
- Extension of the right to time off for public duties.
- The right to request time off for training.
- Revised Acas Discipline and Grievance Code of Practice comes into force from 6 April 2009.
- Minimum statutory holiday entitlement increases to 28 days from 1 April 2009 (this is 20 days plus the public and bank).
- Increase to Employment Tribunal compensatory awards to £66,200 from £63,000
- Increase of a week’s pay from £330 to £350 (used in redundancy pay calculations).
- Changes to including tips in the National Minimum Wage – during 2009.
- The Government is still planning to extend paid maternity leave to 12 months and paid paternity leave for up to 26 weeks if the mother of the child returns to work before the end of the maternity leave in April 2010
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