FLEXIBLE WORKING LEGISLATION EXTENDED TO PARENTS OF CHILDREN UNDER 18

The Government has published Regulations that extend the right to request flexible working to parents of children under 18 from 6 April 2011.


Currently the right applies to parents of children aged under 17, as well as parents of disabled children aged under 18 and carers of certain adults.

What does this mean to you the employer?

You need to ensure that by 6 April 2011 look at current policies and procedures that relate to the right to request flexible working to bring them up to date, by changing the eligibility requirements in their flexible working policy. Don’t forget that your employees also need to be updated and refresher training carried out.

Not sure what to do next?

If you require support and assistance with policies, procedures and training – contact Fairways  now for all your HR  solutions.  www.fairways-uk.com; email admin@fairways-uk.com or call 01738 632561

EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS

 Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2010


The revised increase of limits comes into force, 1st February 2011 in Britain.

The Order will increase the limit on the following employment tribunal awards. The changes include:

a)    a 'weeks pay' increasing from £380 to £400

b)    maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal increasing from £65,300 to £68,400

c)    guarantee pay increasing from £21.20 a day to £22.20 a day.

The Regulations and explanatory memorandum are available on the Office for Public Sector Information website

IMMIGRATION LIMITS

The High Court ruled on 17th December 2010  that the interim cap was unlawful. This followed a judicial review application by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the English Community Care Association.  The Government may appeal the ruling.

The Government has also announced that it will stop accepting Tier 1 (General) overseas from 00:01 23 December 2010 and a new interim limit will be set for Tier 2 (General).

You can find additional information and the refined criteria on the UKBA website at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW AND ABSENCE FROM WORK

We’ve had many queries over the last few days from employers seeking advice regarding employees who are not at work ‘due to adverse weather conditions’ and the chaos this is causing them.

This is becoming a huge controversial issue due to the extent of the adverse weather conditions which is affecting increasing numbers of business operations day to day with increasing numbers of employees not turning up for work.  With nearly 11 per cent of the UK’s employees absent from work yesterday – the highest figure ever recorded for December, according to absence management company FirstCare, it's no surprise that organisations are concerned.

So what can you do if your employees can't make it in to work? You should be aware that employees have statutory protection against an unauthorised deduction from their wages.  However, if your employee fails to turn up for work to undertake job you  pay them for, then an employer is not obliged to pay the employee unless there is a contractual provision entitling them to pay or you may already have the employee’s consent for deductions in which case there is no further issue.

Deductions from pay will be unauthorised in most situations, unless contracts of employment provide for deductions under specific circumstances. Whether this covers adverse weather is dependent on each employer’s conditions. An example of where adverse weather conditions can be found is in the construction trades / industry.

An option for employers to consider is to have employees use part of their holiday entitlement.

Unpaid leave is the same as a deduction from pay, therefore the use of part of an employee's holiday entitlement is a safer option and makes it more difficult for an employee  to take legal action in such circumstances

Whether an employer has a ‘right’ to enforce the use of holiday entitlement is again dependent on contractual terms given to your employees which may prevent this.

You could, depending on your working environment and jobs undertaken, allow employees to work from home for a limited period of time. 

The promotion of  supporting employees as best as possible in such times is beneficial to the workplace in that motivated and cared for employees are more likley to go that 'extra mile' in trying their best to attend work.  Employers should ensure that all employees are treated consistently to avoid grievances or perhaps even discrimination claims - consider those employees who may have for example childcare problems due to inclement weather as they may well have legislative protection and may be entitled to 'emergency dependant's leave'.

There is much more that could be written about this subject however, should you require more information and / or advice on people management issues you should always seek professional and independent advice. Fairways can assist with all HR policies and procedures http://www.fairways-uk.com/.