Need to catch up? - Our review of the main changes faced by employers this year

The big law changes in 2007 were:

April 2007

The Work & Families Act 2006

The Work and Families Act 2006 came into effect in April 2007 and introduced new statutory provisions for Adoption Leave, Maternity Leave and Flexible Working.   A summary of the key changes are listed below;

·                      Any employee is now entitled to up to 39 weeks paid (previously 26 weeks) adoption and maternity leave regardless of their length of service, at the statutory rate.

·                      Statutory Maternity and Adoption Pay has been increased to £112.75 per week (previously £108.85) and statutory sick pay increased to £72.55 per week, t he Lower Earnings Limit was also increased to £87 per week.

·                      If an employee wants to return to work before the end of their full maternity/ adoption leave period (52 weeks) they are required to give 8 weeks written notice of the date they intend to return (previously only 28 days written notice was required).

·                      During a period of maternity/adoption leave, an employee can agree to work for the Company (or to attend training) for up to 10 days, without the loss of a week's Statutory Adoption Pay, these days are called ' Keeping-in-touch Days'.   However, the Company does not have any right to require the employee to carry out any work, and the employee has no right to undertake any work, it has to be mutually agreed.

·                      Finally, the Work and Families Act 2006 has extended the right to request flexible working to employees who have responsibility for caring for an adult in need of care.   To qualify for this right employees must have 26 weeks continuous service and be the adult's spouse, partner, civil partner or relative, or live at the same address as the adult.  

Information & Consultation of Employees Regulations

From 1^st April 2007, the Information and Consultation applied to employers with more than 100 staff and from 1^st April 2008, they will apply to employers with over 50 staff.   They have applied to employers with more than 150 staff since April 2005.

In a nutshell the Regulations give employees the right to be informed and consulted about the business they work for, including prospects for employment and substantial changes in work organisations or contractual relations.

July 2007

Smoking Ban

From 1^st July 2007, smoking was officially banned in all workplaces and enclosed public places in England.   The new regulations also cover any work vehicle which is used by more than one person (even if those people use the vehicle at different times, or only intermittently).   If employers fail to comply with this legislation this will be an offence and could lead to a fine of up to £2,500.  

October 2007

National Minimum Wage

From 1^st October 2007, the national minimum wage increased as follows;

Holiday Entitlement

Statutory annual leave entitlement was proposed to increase in two phases, rising from 20 to 24 days on 1^st October 2007, and from 24 to 28 days on 1^st April 2009.

It is not proposed that the new regulations will prohibit Bank Holiday working and employers will be allowed to determine how the days off are managed for example, if a business is closed on Bank Holidays employees may be obliged to take these days off.   However, if a business requires employees to work on Bank Holidays, the organisation could fairly select a proportion of employees to work, as long as they are given the statutory minimum days off across the annual leave period and the process is in line with the employee's contract.

Data Protection Act 1998

On 24^th October 2007, manual filing systems in existence before 24^th October 1998, were required to comply fully with the Data Protection Directive.   The term 'manual filing system' refers to any manual or paper-based filing system that is structured either by reference to individuals or by reference to criteria relating to individuals, in such a way that specific information relating to a particular individual is readily accessible.

In accordance with the Data Protection Act, manual filing systems will be required to comply with the eight data protection principles, which state that personal data held on an employee's personal file or on any associated or computerised record;-

• must be processed fairly and lawfully;
• must be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes;
• must be adequate, relevant and not excessive;
• must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date;
• must not be kept for longer than strictly necessary;
• must be processed in accordance with the rights of employees i.e employees have the right to write to their employer asking for details of any personal data held about them;
• must be protected (by appropriate technical and organisational measures) against unauthorised or unlawful processing or disclosure, and against accidental loss, damage or destruction;
• must not be transferred to any country or territory outside of the European Economic Area.

Next month we'll update on the changes expected in 2008.

In the meantime, if you have any employment law questions just give us a call. And don't forget, we have our own very experienced and highly effective in-house employment lawyer, Stephen Finn, ready and waiting to look after your interests. We look forward to hearing from you.

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