Our openbrief article on 18 February 2011 reported that the first draft of the Regulations that remove the default retirement age of 65 had been published.  However, the way in which they were drafted produced some unexpected and problematic consequences for employers, including the situation where an employer who retired an employee on or before 30/9/11 [...]

Posted: March 4th, 2011 under Employment/HR.
Comments: none

Finally, the draft Regulations that aim to remove the default retirement age of 65 have been published. They are in draft and are yet to be approved.  However, whilst they have provided more clarity in some respects, they have caused complete confusion in others.  The Regulations provide that:
1 from 6/4/11 employers will no longer be [...]

Posted: February 18th, 2011 under Employment/HR.
Comments: none

The right to request time off for work relevant training was introduced for employees of large employers in April 2010.  It applied to employers who employed 250 employees or more.  The Government had intended to extend this right to all employees from April 2011. 
The penalty for an employer who failed to consider such a request was [...]

Posted: February 16th, 2011 under Employment/HR.
Comments: none

Should an employer be on the receiving end of an Employment Tribunal claim, the general rule is that they will be unable to claim their legal costs back from the Claimant even if they successfully defend the claim.  This is because the general rule is that each party should bear its own costs in such [...]

Posted: February 15th, 2011 under Employment/HR.
Comments: none

From 1 February 2011 the compensation limits increase as follows:
Unfair dismissal
Maximum compensatory award         £68,400 (previously £65,300)
Cap on week’s pay for basic award    £400 (previously £380)
Maximum basic award                       £12,000 (previously £11,400)
Redundancy payments
Cap on week’s pay                             £400 (previously £380)
Maximum redundancy payment         £12,000 (previously £11,400)
 
From 11 April 2011 it is proposed that payments and allowances increase as follows:
Statutory Maternity, Paternity and
Adoption Pay & Maternity [...]

Posted: December 14th, 2010 under Employment/HR.
Comments: none