Employment Law Update - October 2009
National Minimum Wage Rises
From 1st October 2009 the national minimum wage hourly rates will increase as follows:
- Adult rate (workers aged 22 and over) increase to £5.80
- Development rate for 18-21 year olds will increase to £4.83
- Development rate for 16-17 year olds will increase to £3.57
Centralised vetting system for people working with children and vulnerable adults
A new, centralised vetting system will be introduced under the 2006 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act for people banned from working with children and vulnerable adults. The scheme will be introduced in stages from 12th October 2009 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but will be fully enacted by November 2010. It will go live in Scotland in 2010, although no exact date has been set.
Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (No. 2) Regulations 2009
The regulations amend the purposes for which an application for an enhanced criminal records certificate can be made under the Police Act 1997. They also prescribe the circumstances in which people making an application can get access to information about whether someone is suitable for working with children or vulnerable adults.
Data Protection (Notification and Notification Fees)
These regulations amend the fees that data controllers have to pay to register with the Information Commissioner to process personal data. A two-tiered structure is being introduced to replace the previous flat fee of £35. The fee for any data controller with fewer than 250 employees stays at £35, but large data controllers will have to pay £500.
Time off for trade union duties and activities
A revised Code of Practice by ACAS on time off for trade union duties and activities has been approved, after substantial consultation. The prime focus of the code is representatives of independent trade unions in workplaces where the union is recognised for collective bargaining purposes. This includes representative duties associated with collective redundancies and the transfer of undertakings. The code also provides advice concerning union learning representatives.
Additional information available from www.acas.org.uk
Work and Families (Increase of Maximum Amount) Order 2009
This Order introduces a one-off increase (from £350 to £380) to the statutory limit on weekly pay that is used by tribunals to calculate redundancy pay and the basic award for unfair dismissal. The change was announced in the budget earlier this year.
The increase would normally have taken effect in February 2010, but because it has been brought forward to October, there will be no further increases until February 2011.
National Minimum Wage - Exclusion of tips
Amendments to the national minimum wage regulations mean that employers can no longer count tips and service charges as part of the legal minimum wage.