Not only has the 1st October brought Autumn, it has also brought a number of changes in the employment law arena. Firstly, the reservists changes (as featured in my last post) are now in effect. Also on the 1st October, fathers and partners of expectant mothers were given the right to unpaid time off to attend antenatal appointments with the mother.
For equal pay claims presented to Tribunal after 1st October 2014, Tribunals will have the power to order an equal pay audit. Finally, the annual pay rises for those on the national minimum wage will take effect as follows:
- Workers aged 21+ will now be £6.50 per hour up from £6.31
- Workers aged 18-20 will now get £5.13 up from £5.03
- Workers aged 16-17 will now get £3.79 per hour up from £3.72
- Apprentices will get a new rate of £2.73 up from £2.68
The next few months will be interesting as we enter the run up to the General Election on 7th May 2014 as no doubt there will be many statements from the parties about their manifestos and the changes they intend to make.
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