This document from KE-HR discusses several upcoming changes to UK employment law. It outlines new regulations around additional paternity leave and childcare vouchers as well as an overview of the Equality Bill which aims to consolidate discrimination laws and strengthen protections. The document also summarizes new rights for agency workers, changes to sick notes and compensation limits, and clarification around holidays during sick leave periods.

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EMPLOYMENT LAW
16 April 2010

2. Employment Law
● Family Friendly Rights
● The Equality Bill
● Agency Worker Regulations
● Fit Notes
● Compensation Limits
● Holidays during Sick Leave
● Any Other Areas of Interest
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3. Family Friendly Rights
● Additional Paternity Leave
○ Babies born, or children adopted, on or after 3
April 2011
○ Up to 26 weeks
○ Mother must return to work
○ Pay same as SMP – mother must be entitled
○ Self certified
○ Eligibility mirrors Ordinary Paternity Leave
● Childcare Vouchers
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4. Equality Bill
● Was introduced in the House of Commons
on 24 April 2009
● Expected to be implemented in October
2010
● Has two purposes:-
○ to harmonise discrimination law
○ Strengthen the law to support progress on
equality
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5. Equality Bill (2)
●Anticipated changes:-
○ Consolidate existing equality legislation
○ Outlaw pay secrecy clauses
○ Employers to publish pay differences
○ Empower tribunals to make recommendations
which apply to whole workforce
○ Create single public sector equality duty
○ Enable positive action
○ Caste discrimination
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6. Equality Bill (3)
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● Positive Action
○ Where members of a group are underrepresented, at
a disadvantage or have particular needs
○ Can take any action which is a proportionate means
of addressing that (not in relation to recruitment or
promotion
○ In recruitment or promotion a person can take action
where a group is underrepresented or disadvantaged.
● Carry out an equal pay audit?

7. Agency Workers
● Directive published 5 December 2008
○ Provides for agency workers to receive equal
rights with full time employees BUT
○ Only after 12 weeks service
● 1.3 million agency workers
● Must be implemented by 5 December
2011, likely to be 1 October 2011
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8. Fit Notes
● 6 April 2010
● Replace sick notes
● Focus on what can be done to facilitate a
return to work
● Enable discussion between GP,
employer and employee
● Up to employer to decide whether
employee is able to return
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9. Compensation Limits
● Weeks pay remains at £380
● Maximum compensation award in an unfair
dismissal decreases to £65,300
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10. Holidays during Sick Leave
● Working Time Regulations
○ Workers have a minimum entitlement to paid annual
leave
○ Cannot be replaced by payment in lieu except on
termination
● Court of Appeal
○ A worker is not entitled to paid annual leave during a
period of sick leave that encompasses a whole leave
year
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11. Holidays during Sick Leave
● European Court of Justice
○ Member states are allowed to stipulate that workers on sick
leave cannot take holiday during sick leave
 BUT workers must be able to take the leave at another time
○ A workers right to paid leave will continue to accrue and cannot
be extinguished
○ On termination workers will be entitled to a payment in lieu of
accrued but untaken leave
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12. Holidays during Sick Leave
● House of Lords
○ Confirmed CA decision
○ Door opened for unlawful deduction of wages claims
○ Grey area remains in relation to carry over of leave in
UK
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13. Other Matters
● Age Discrimination – likely to increase default
retirement age from 65
● Plans to shelve the DRA have been scrapped
● Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
● Blacklisting of union members to be outlawed
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14. Other Matters (2)
● New right to request paid time off to train
○ 6 April 2010
○ Employers with 250 or more employees
○ 6 months service
○ Must demonstrate a benefit to employer
● Whistleblowing
○ 6 April 2010
○ Where ET claimant consents tribunal will pass info to
appropriate regulator to investigate the alleged
malpractice
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