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Welcome to your May edition of Legal point. For those readers who may not have heard, or those who have and just forgotten, we give brief details of the employment changes introduced on 5th April and provide a snapshot of issues which you have called about recently. Holiday entitlement The minimum paid holiday entitlement for those working full time is now 28 days, including bank holidays. For part timers this is applied pro rata. Although new contracts do not need to be issued staff should be advised of this change. Changes in the right to request flexible working for dependent relatives Employees with children up to the age of 16 (18 for a disabled child), can now apply for flexible working. This right also extends to employees who are responsible for the care of a dependent adult such as a spouse or partner, relative or other adult living at the employee’s address. Requests for this should be considered seriously and may only be refused for one or more of the reasons outlined in the legislation. It is normal practice for an agreement to be reached that is workable for both you and the employee. If you already have a flexible working policy this will need to be reviewed. Changes to disciplinary and grievance procedure Changes to the way disciplinary issues are dealt with are intended to make the system of dispute resolution more efficient. The new ACAS Code of Practice now applies to disciplinary and grievance matters. Just 10 pages, and 44 paragraphs long, it is worth taking time to download a copy of the Code and the longer guidance notes from the ACAS website. Increase in statutory redundancy pay Whilst it was announced at the Budget that the statutory redundancy payment would rise by £30 per week to £380, there has been no further news on this point. There are pressure groups which do not think this proposal went far enough, suggesting a figure of £400-£500, as yet there is no firm implementation date of any revised amount. The current statutory redundancy payment will remain at £350 per week. Hot Topics Employment issues remain firmly at the top of our hot topics list in particular: Redundancy and whether the selection process has been fair. Changes to terms and conditions (reduction in salary) as an alternative to redundancy Disciplinary procedures in light of the changes outlined above. Long term sickness rights and requirements of employer and employee. Disability including the responsibilities of an employer where this affects an employees ability to work. |
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