Latest revision January 2008
This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:
- summarises the main changes to employment law in 2007
- looks at the major changes expected in 2008.
Changes to employment law in 2007
Many of the changes in 2007 were the result of 2006 legislation coming
into effect. The following paragraphs outline the major changes. CIPD members
can see a fuller list and more detail in 'Recent developments' pages in the
Employment Law at Work area of our website.
From January
- Bulgaria and Romania became members of the European Union
on 1 January, but Bulgarians and Romanians still need a work permit to work in
the UK.
- Parts of the Companies Act 2006 came into force. .
From February
- The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2006 (SI
2006/3045) – came into force on 1 February 2007. The maximum
compensation in an unfair dismissal case increased to £60,600. The maximum
weekly pay to be taken into account when calculating statutory redundancy
payments and the basic award in unfair dismissal claims increased to
£310.
From April
- Working families – the enhanced maternity and adoption
rights under the Work and Families Act 2006 applied where the expected week of
childbirth or the date of adoption was on or after 1 April 2007.
- Statutory maternity/paternity/adoption pay– from 1 April
2007, the flat rates for SMP, maternity allowance (MA), SPP and SAP were
increased to £112.75 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if less).
- Smoking at work – under the Health Act 2006, workplaces
in Wales became smoke-free from 2 April 2007 and in Northern Ireland from 30
April.2007.
- Carers of adults have the right to request flexible
working (also introduced by the Work and Families Act 2006) – from 6
April 2007.
- Definition of ‘religion or belief’ in discrimination
cases was extended to include being of no religion or belief (part of
the Equality Act 2006) – from 6 April 2007.
- The ‘gender equality duty’ (also part of the Equality Act
2006) required all public authorities to eliminate unlawful discrimination and
harassment as well as promote equality of opportunity for men and women – from
6 April 2007.
- Employers with 100 or more employees had additional
duties to consult their employees under the Information and Consultation of
Employees Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3426) and the Occupational and Personal
Pension Schemes (Consultation by Employers) (Modification for Multi-employer
Schemes) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/16) – from 6 April 2007.
- Statutory sick pay – from 6 April 2007, the flat rate for
SSP increased to £72.55 per week.
From July
- Smoking at work – from 1 July, under the Health Act 2006,
workplaces in England became smoke-free. The smoking ban now applies
throughout the UK and all employers have to provide smoke-free workplaces for
employees.
From October
- Statutory holiday entitlement increased from 4 weeks (20
days) to 4.8 weeks (24 days) to implement the Work and Families Act 2006
commitment to make paid time off for bank holidays additional to holiday
entitlement. From 1 April 2009, the second phase will increase statutory
holiday entitlement to 5.6 weeks (28 days). These entitlements are for
full-time staff; they are pro-rata for those working part-time.
- The new Equality and Human Rights Commission - created by
the Equality Act 2006 took over from the various separate organisations to
provide a single equality body working against all forms of discrimination.
- The right to request flexible working was
extended to private foster carers and people with residence orders,
and the definition of 'adopter' was widened.
- All remaining provisions of The Data Protection Act 1998 came into
force - requiring all manual filing systems which existed before 24
October 1998 to comply.
- The national minimum wage increased to £5.52 per hour.
The development rate for 18 to 21 year olds increased to £4.60, and for 16 to
17 year olds to £3.40.
- More sections of the Companies Act 2006 came into force.
Employment-related Acts passed by Parliament
- Welfare Reform Act 2007- received Royal Assent on 3 May.
Includes measures to encourage people into work and reform of incapacity
benefits from 2008.
- Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007- received Royal Assent
on 19 July. Includes a wide range of proposals to reform the
tribunals system in England and Wales.
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007- received
Royal Assent on 26 July. Will create a new offence of corporate
manslaughter from April 2008 (corporate homicide in Scotland).
- Pensions Act 2007 - received Royal Assent on 26 July.
Will take forward the findings of the National Pensions debate and many of the
proposals announced in the White Paper published in October 2006.
Other developments
- Findings of the Gibbon review of employment dispute
resolution were published in March and the Department of Business, Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform (BERR) (formerly the Department of Trade and Industry)
have consulted on how to improve the way employment disputes are resolved
while preserving existing employees' rights.
- The Equalities Review final report was published in
February. Together with the Discrimination Law Review, and
government consultation exercise over Summer 2007, it will inform proposals
for a Single Equality Act which the Government plan to introduce.
Main changes expected in 2008
While some of the changes expected in 2008 are now fairly certain, even
though the details or the actual date of implementation is not yet fixed, others
are dependent on the outcome of government consultations or reviews, and the
progress of Bills through Parliament.
CIPD members can see fuller and
more detailed lists in our Recent developments section of the Employment Law at
Work area of our website.
In February
- The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2007 (SI
2007/3570) – will come into force on 1 February 2008. The maximum
compensation in an unfair dismissal case will increase to £63,000. The maximum
weekly pay to be taken into account when calculating statutory redundancy
payments and the basic award in unfair dismissal claims will increase to £330.
- Two sets of new immigration regulations will come into
force from 29 February introducing penalties for employing illegal workers.
- The new points-based system for managed migration will
have a phased introduction from the first quarter of 2008.
- Following the High Court ruling that the UK Government had not properly
implemented the Equal Treatment Directive, amendments to The
Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 are
expected to be implemented.
In April
- Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business (Amendment)
Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/8992) – will come into force on 6 April,
increasing protection for agency workers.
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007-
will come into force on 6 April, creating a new offence of corporate
manslaughter (corporate homicide in Scotland).
- Employers with 50 or more employees will have additional
duties to consult their employees under the Information and Consultation of
Employees Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3426) and the Occupational and Personal
Pension Schemes (Consultation by Employers) (Modification for Multi-employer
Schemes) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/16) – from 6 April.
- Statutory maternity/paternity/adoption pay – from April
2008, the flat rates for SMP, maternity allowance (MA), SPP and SAP will
increased to £117.18 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if less).
- Statutory sick pay – from April 2008, the flat rate for
SSP will increase to £75.40 per week.
In August
- The recast EU Equal Treatment Directive which
consolidates existing directives and European Court of Justice decisions into
a single text – will come into force on 15 August.
In October
- Annual increase in the national minimum wage is expected.
Other likely developments
- The Department for Communities and Local Government have confirmed that
the UK Government will lay regulations before Parliament to fully
implement the EU Race Directive.
- Report on review into extending the right to request flexible
working to parents of older children, with possible implementation
during the year.
- Possible introduction of Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups Act
2006 – introducing central vetting system for those working with
Children and vulnerable adults.
Employment-related Bills
- Employment Bill – introduced to Parliament on 6 December
2007. It aims to simplify, clarify and develop a stronger enforcement regime
for certain aspects of employment law, including changes to the law relating
to dispute resolution in the workplace as a response to the Gibbon review (see
above) .
- Education and Skills Bill – introduced to Parliament on
29 November 2007. Will implement key elements of the Leitch Review, including
raising the education or training leaving age to 18 by 2015.
- Pensions Bill – introduced to Parliament on 5 December
2007. Will take forward the remaining provisions in the 2006 White Paper.
- Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill – a
private member’s Bill introduced on 5 December 2007. It aims to provide equal
treatment for temporary and agency workers.
- draft Apprenticeship Reform Bill – plans to introduce
legislation to reform apprenticeships.
- Single Equality Bill – expected in the Queen’s Speech in
2008.
Useful contacts
More information on employment law
CIPD members can
find detailed information on employment law developments, including key
case law and its implications for employers, in the Recent
developments and Frequently Asked Questions sections
of our Employment Law at Work area.
See the text of all legislation listed in this factsheet
Acas
Government departments
Government department websites
usually contain useful summaries of recent and forthcoming legislation. The main
departments for employment law are:
This factsheet was written by CIPD staff.