From 1 October 2014 expectant fathers, or the partner of a pregnant woman, will be entitled to take unpaid time off work to attend antenatal appointments with their partner.

You can find more information on the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills website.

From 30th June 2014, the right to request flexible working has been extended to all employees.  Previously the right just applied to employees who had children or who were carers.

There is advice and guidance for employers on the ACAS website: http://www.acas.org.uk

 

Employment Tribunal fees have been introduced and apply to claims or appeals made on or after 29 July 2013.

Fees have to be paid for issuing a claim and for the hearing as well as fees for specific applications.

More information is available in a factsheet on the Ministry of Justice website  http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/tribunals/employment/et-fees-factsheet.pdf

After some toing and froing between the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the govermment has now accepted that the  protection against discrimination in the workplace should also apply to caste discrimination.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has been asked to examine the nature of caste discrimination and harassment before changes are made to the Equality Act.

On 6 April the weekly rate of statutory sick pay increases from £85.85 to £86.70.

On 7 April, the weekly rate of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay increases from £135.45 to £136.78.

From 6th April 2013 the statutory collective redundancy consultation period decreases:

Where an employer makes proposals on or after 6 April to dismiss as redundant 100 or more employees within a period of 90 days or less, the consultation period is reduced from at least 90 days before the first dismissal takes effect to at least 45 days before the first dismissal takes effect.

The minimum consultation period where the employer is proposing to dismiss between 20 and 99 employees remains at 30 days.

Maximum compensation for unfair dismissal rose from £72,300 to £74,200 on 1st February 2013 and the week’s pay used to calculate basic tribunal awards and statutory redundancy pay rose from £430 to £450.