With 2009 firmly behind us it’s time to look at what 2010 will hold for Employers. For Steve Edwards, Employment Law Director at CoLaw, an independent company specialising in employment law and health & safety, the outcome of the Election may be the single most important deciding factor. Says Steve, “There are certainly some important pieces of legislation on the table, but the outcome of the General Election is likely to determine the direction and content of much of that proposed legislation.”
That said Steve believes that it is vital for all employers, irrespective of the size of their business, to be aware of what is likely to come up over the forthcoming months and to action as necessary anything that is likely to affect their business and their employees.
In February
· Compensation limits for unfair dismissal will go down (for the first time ever) from £66,200 to £65,300 from 1st February 2010. (The maximum weekly pay to be taken into account when calculating statutory redundancy payments and the basic award in unfair dismissal claims, was increased to £380 in October 2009 and it remains unchanged.)
‘Early’ in 2010
· Following a consultation process in 2009, proposed regulations on union blacklisting are expected to come into force.
‘Spring’ 2010
· The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Amendment Regulations 2010 will introduce new 'fit notes' that will replace sick notes in England, Wales and Scotland.
Fit Notes; Employers Unconvinced by New ‘Fit Note’
The introduction of the ‘fit note’ is causing employers concern says Steve, “Certainly the employers we represent are asking for a lot more information about the new “fit note”, which will replace the current “sick note” from April this year; and it’s not just our clients. A recent opinion poll taken by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) found that most employers had some concerns about the changes to the Med 3 certificate, with over a quarter seeing ‘no benefit to the proposals’.”
The new “fit note” will ask GPs to assess whether a patient is ‘fit for work’, ‘not fit for work’ or ‘maybe fit for some work now’. Employers will then be asked to consider a phased return to work, altered hours, amended duties or workplace adaptations accordingly. The changes are part of a drive to help more people to stay in work rather than succumbing to long-term absence and are expected to save the UK economy £365 million over the next 10 years.
Adds Steve, “Both our clients and respondents to the IES survey said that as employers they are concerned that GPs just do not have the expertise to deal with occupational health issues, that Managers could misinterpret the forms and that the changes would increase the workload for HR. Employers also remain concerned about difficulties in carrying out doctors’ recommendations for workplace adjustments. For some employers it will be incredibly difficult for them to allow returners on ‘light duties’. This all said the draft regulations state that it would be up to employers to assess whether any work-related adjustments were cost-effective; and that’s something in the favour of employers at least!”
The “fit note” was one of the recommendations made by Dame Carol Black, the National Director for Health and Work, in her review of the working population published in 2009.
From April
· Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay - the standard rates of SMP, SPP and SAP will increase to £124.08 a week. (The standard rate of Statutory sick pay (SSP) will remain unchanged at £79.15 a week.)
· Following consultations in 2009, amendments to the Conduct of Employment Agencies Regulations are expected to come into force.
· Regulations are expected to come into force which will allow parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011 to transfer part of the mother’s maternity leave to the father.
· Under the Apprentices, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, after a minimum of six month’s service in organisations with 250 or more staff, employees will have the right to request time off for training which they believe will make them productive and effective at work. As in the existing arrangements covering flexible working, employers will have a duty to consider seriously any such request. There will be no requirement for an employee to pay for the training or time off. (The right will be extended to all sizes of organisation from April 2011.)
From October
· Provisions of the Equality Act expected to come into force.
From November
· Under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, people seeking work in a ‘regulated activity’ must register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), although they may register from 26 July 2010.
Other developments
· The planned review of the default retirement age (DRA) has been brought forward to 2010. In October 2009 the Government called for evidence on the DRA to feed into the review to be submitted by 1 February 2010.
... And Finally
With the demise of the statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures last year and the introduction of the new ACAS Code of Practice did we all think that the way we deal with discipline and grievance would change dramatically?
In fact things will remain very much the same except that the new Code has confirmed that performance issues should be dealt with through a capability procedure unless the poor performance resulted from misconduct.
Additionally the new Code does not cover redundancy so employers are well advised to establish a procedure to deal with this subject. So in 2010 employers in order to manage employment issues and avoid claims for unfair dismissal including mismanaged redundancies, discrimination claims etcetera should ensure that they have the following in place that comply with the requirements of the ACAS Code, legislation and case law:
o Disciplinary procedures
o Capability procedures
o Grievance procedures
o Redundancy procedures
o Equal Opportunities policy
o Harassment and bullying procedures