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Sarah King Employment Solicitor

employment law changes 2014There are a number of employment law changes which came into effect on the 6th April 2014.

A summary of these changes is set out below:

 

Acas conciliation

The Acas early conciliation procedure will be introduced.

Discrimination questionnaires

Section 138 of the Equality Act 2010 (which deals with discrimination questionnaires) will be repealed.

Employment tribunals

  • Employment tribunals will be given the power to impose a financial penalty on employers who lose at tribunal of 50% of any financial award, with a minimum threshold of £100 and a maximum cap of £5,000.
  • Employment tribunal compensation limits will increase. For example, the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal will rise from £74,200 to £76,574.

Pay and benefits

Several social security benefits and payments will increase by 1%. For example:

  • The rate of statutory sick pay will increase to £87.55 (up from £86.70).
  • The rate of statutory maternity pay will increase to £138.18 (up from £136.78).
  • The rates of statutory adoption pay, statutory paternity pay, and additional statutory paternity pay will increase to £138.18 (up from £136.78).

Sickness absence

  • The government will abolish the statutory sick pay record-keeping obligations and allow employers to keep records in a flexible manner more suited to their organisation.
  • Employers will no longer be able to reclaim their SSP from the State in excess of the 13% NI contributions that month.

Employers should ensure that they are abreast of the current changes.

(Our news section brings you the latest news on published judgments and cases which are all in the public domain. We only comment on these published cases and not cases of our actual clients. Publication of the case or comments is a public service designed to make the courts and tribunals more accessible and ensures justice is seen to be done. This is why court and tribunal judgments are published publicly.)