Employment Law Update: Legislation Overview 2010

P3PM’s essential guide to employment law legislation updates that your business needs to be aware of in 2010:

1st February – Unfair dismissal
The maximum unfair dismissal compensatory award will decrease from £66,200 to £65,300 where the effective date of termination of employment occurs on or after 1 February 2010. The maximum daily amount of statutory guarantee payment will also decrease from £21.50 to £21.20 per day.

4th April – SMP, SPP, SAP
The standard weekly rates of statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP) and statutory adoption pay (SAP) will increase from £123.06 to £124.88 per week. However, the weekly rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) will stay the same.

6th April – Request to train
A new statutory right to request time to train will come into force for employers with 250 or more employees. For other employers, it will come into force from April 2011.

6th April – Paternity leave
New legislation giving fathers the right to take up to six months’ additional paternity leave, if the mother returns to work before using her full one year entitlement to maternity leave. This will be implemented in relation to parents of babies due on or after 3 April 2011.

April – ‘Fit note’
GP sick notes will be replaced with a new ‘fit note’ system of sickness certification.

1st October – NMW
The national minimum wage (NMW) rates may rise, subject to prevailing economic conditions and the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, which are due to be delivered to the Government in February 2010. In any event, the main adult rate of the NMW will apply to workers aged 21 and over from 1 October 2010. At the moment, it applies to workers aged 22 and over.

1st October – Equality Act
If enacted, most of the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 will come into force, which will combine and streamline existing discrimination legislation.