Revised October 2008
This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:
- summarises the main changes to employment law in 2007
- looks at the major changes to date and those still expected in 2008.
Changes to employment law in 2007
Many of the changes in 2007 were the result of 2006 legislation coming into effect. The following paragraphs outline the major changes. CIPD members can see a fuller list and more detail in 'Recent developments' pages in the Employment Law at Work area of our website.
From January
- Bulgaria and Romania became members of the European Union on 1 January, but Bulgarians and Romanians still need a work permit to work in the UK.
- Parts of the Companies Act 2006 came into force. .
From February
- The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2006 (SI 2006/3045) – came into force on 1 February 2007. The maximum compensation in an unfair dismissal case increased to £60,600. The maximum weekly pay to be taken into account when calculating statutory redundancy payments and the basic award in unfair dismissal claims increased to £310.
From April
- Working families – the enhanced maternity and adoption rights under the Work and Families Act 2006 applied where the expected week of childbirth or the date of adoption was on or after 1 April 2007.
- Statutory maternity/paternity/adoption pay– from 1 April 2007, the flat rates for SMP, maternity allowance (MA), SPP and SAP were increased to £112.75 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if less).
- Smoking at work – under the Health Act 2006, workplaces in Wales became smoke-free from 2 April 2007 and in Northern Ireland from 30 April.2007.
- Carers of adults have the right to request flexible working (also introduced by the Work and Families Act 2006) – from 6 April 2007.
- Definition of ‘religion or belief’ in discrimination cases was extended to include being of no religion or belief (part of the Equality Act 2006) – from 6 April 2007.
- The ‘gender equality duty’ (also part of the Equality Act 2006) required all public authorities to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment as well as promote equality of opportunity for men and women – from 6 April 2007.
- Employers with 100 or more employees had additional duties to consult their employees under the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3426) and the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Consultation by Employers) (Modification for Multi-employer Schemes) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/16) – from 6 April 2007.
- Statutory sick pay – from 6 April 2007, the flat rate for SSP increased to £72.55 per week.
From July
- Smoking at work – from 1 July, under the Health Act 2006, workplaces in England became smoke-free. The smoking ban now applies throughout the UK and all employers have to provide smoke-free workplaces for employees.
From October
- Statutory holiday entitlement increased from 4 weeks (20 days) to 4.8 weeks (24 days) to implement the Work and Families Act 2006 commitment to make paid time off for bank holidays additional to holiday entitlement. From 1 April 2009, the second phase will increase statutory holiday entitlement to 5.6 weeks (28 days). These entitlements are for full-time staff; they are pro-rata for those working part-time.
- The new Equality and Human Rights Commission - created by the Equality Act 2006 took over from the various separate organisations to provide a single equality body working against all forms of discrimination.
- The right to request flexible working was extended to private foster carers and people with residence orders, and the definition of 'adopter' was widened.
- All remaining provisions of The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force - requiring all manual filing systems which existed before 24 October 1998 to comply.
- The national minimum wage increased to £5.52 per hour. The development rate for 18 to 21 year olds increased to £4.60, and for 16 to 17 year olds to £3.40.
- More sections of the Companies Act 2006 came into force.
Employment-related Acts passed by Parliament
- Welfare Reform Act 2007- received Royal Assent on 3 May. Includes measures to encourage people into work and reform of incapacity benefits from 2008.
- Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007- received Royal Assent on 19 July. Includes a wide range of proposals to reform the tribunals system in England and Wales.
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007- received Royal Assent on 26 July. Will create a new offence of corporate manslaughter from April 2008 (corporate homicide in Scotland).
- Pensions Act 2007 - received Royal Assent on 26 July. Will take forward the findings of the National Pensions debate and many of the proposals announced in the White Paper published in October 2006.
Other developments
- Findings of the Gibbon review of employment dispute resolution were published in March and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) (formerly the Department of Trade and Industry) have consulted on how to improve the way employment disputes are resolved while preserving existing employees' rights.
- The Equalities Review final report was published in February. Together with the Discrimination Law Review, and government consultation exercise over Summer 2007, it will inform proposals for a Single Equality Act which the Government plan to introduce.
Main changes in 2008
While some changes are still expected in 2008, the details or the actual date of implementation is not yet fixed, and other changes are dependent on the outcome of government consultations or reviews, and the progress of Bills through Parliament.
CIPD members can see fuller and more detailed lists and a latest news page in our Recent developments section of the Employment Law at Work area of our website.
Fom February
- The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2007 (SI 2007/3570) – came into force on 1 February 2008. The maximum compensation in an unfair dismissal case increased to £63,000. The maximum weekly pay to be taken into account when calculating statutory redundancy payments and the basic award in unfair dismissal claims increased to £330.
- Two sets of new immigration regulations came into force on 29 February introducing penalties for employing illegal workers. Our facthseet for CIPD members outlines these changes.
From 6 April
- Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/8992) – came into force, increasing protection for agency workers.
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007- came into effect, creating a new offence of corporate manslaughter (corporate homicide in Scotland). CIPD members can read our guide to the Act.
- Employers with 50 or more employees have additional duties to consult their employees under the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3426) and the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Consultation by Employers) (Modification for Multi-employer Schemes) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/16).
- Amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 came into force, to make it compatible with the EU Equal Treatment Directive. Changed the definition of sexual harassment and clarified the position of employer liability for third party harassment.
- Statutory maternity/paternity/adoption pay – the flat rates for SMP, maternity allowance (MA), SPP and SAP increased to £117.18 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if less).
- Statutory sick pay – the flat rate for SSP increased to £75.40 per week.
From October
- Annual increase in the national minimum wage will take effect: the standard rate will rise to £5.73, the development rate to £4.77 and the youth rate to £3.53 – from 1 October.
- Women who are treated less-favourably can bring maternity-related discrimination claims – for those whose expected week of childbirth starts on or after 5 October 2008.
- Additional Maternity Leave terms and conditions – women whose expected week of childbirth starts on or after 5 October 2008 have the right to the same non-pay terms and conditions as in Ordinary Maternity Leave.
- Additional Adoption Leave terms and conditions – those who expect placement of an adopted child on or after 5 October 2008 have the right to the same non-pay terms and conditions as in Ordinary Adoption Leave.
- Changes to the information employers are required to provide about Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – expected from 27 October.
- Agency workers with contracts of less than three months will be entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) – expected from 27 October.
From November
- Points-based immigration – Tiers 2 and 5 will begin on 27 November.
Other developments
- EU Working Time Directive opt-out – agreement was reached in June that allows the UK to retain the opt-out from the 48-hour maximum working week but with tighter restrictions.EU Temporary Agency Workers Directive – equal treatment for agency workers. In the UK agency workers will receive the right to equal treatment after 12 week’s employment.
- The Department for Communities and Local Government have confirmed that the UK Government will lay regulations before Parliament to fully implement the EU Race Directive.
- Extending the right to request flexible working to parents of older children - the Government had accepted the Walsh review’s recommendation on raising child-related age limit to 16 and this was expected to take effect from April 2009. However, the Government are now considering delaying implementation.
Employment-related Bills currently before Parliament
- Employment Bill – introduced to Parliament on 6 December 2007 has passed through the House of Lords and is currently being considered in the House of Commons. It aims to simplify, clarify and develop a stronger enforcement regime for certain aspects of employment law, including changes to the law relating to dispute resolution in the workplace and a revised Acas code of practice.. If passed by Parliament, it is likely to be enacted in April 2009.
- Education and Skills Bill – introduced to Parliament on 29 November 2007 has passed through the House of Commons and is currently being considered in the House of Lords. Will implement key elements of the Leitch Review, including raising the education or training leaving age to 18 by 2015.
- Pensions Bill – introduced to Parliament on 5 December 2007 has passed through the House of Commons and is currently being considered in the House of Lords. Will take forward the remaining provisions in the 2006 White Paper.
Developments expected in the 2008 Queen’s speech
- Citizenship, Immigration and Borders Bill – to strengthen the UK Border Agency and replace separate pieces of immigration law with a single Act.
- another Education and Skills Bill - to reform apprenticeships
- Equality Bill – to consolidate and simplify existing discrimination law.
Useful contacts
More information on employment law
CIPD members can find detailed information on employment law developments, including key case law and its implications for employers, in the Recent developments and Frequently Asked Questions sections of our Employment Law at Work area.
See the text of all legislation listed in this factsheet
Acas
Government departments
Government department websites usually contain useful summaries of recent and forthcoming legislation. The main departments for employment law are:
This factsheet was written and udated by CIPD staff.