The following employment-related legislation will come into force in April 2011:
Abolition of the default retirement age
The Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011, which abolish the default retirement age of 65, will come into force on 6 April 2011. The last date for issuing a notice of intended retirement date under the current regime is 5 April 2011 and the employer can set the retirement date at any time up to 12 months later, provided six to 12 months’ notice of intended retirement is given, the statutory retirement procedure is followed correctly and the employee has attained or will attain the age of 65 (or, if higher, the employer’s normal retirement age) on or before 30 September 2011.
Any purported retirement dismissal notified from 6 April 2011 onwards will, if not objectively justified, amount to unlawful age discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. It is also likely to constitute an unfair dismissal.
Employers may also no longer prohibit job applicants from applying for a job if they are aged 65 or over, or are within six months of the age of 65.
Positive action in recruitment and promotion
Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010, on ‘positive action’ in recruitment and promotion, will come into force on 6 April 2011. This section permits employers in their recruitment or promotion processes to treat individuals with a protected characteristic more favourably when faced with two or more candidates of equal merit, if the more favourable treatment is intended to address under-representation in the workforce or a disadvantage that is connected to the protected characteristic.
Statutory payment amounts
The standard weekly rate of statutory maternity pay (SMP) and the weekly rates of statutory adoption pay (SAP) ordinary statutory paternity pay (OSPP) and additional statutory paternity pay (ASPP) will rise from £124.88 to £128.73 for payment weeks starting on or after Sunday, 3 April 2011. The weekly rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) will rise from £79.15 to £81.60 with effect from 6 April 2011. Finally, the lower earnings limit for qualifying for SSP, SMP, SAP, OSPP and ASPP will rise from £97.00 to £102.00 per week from 6 April 2011.
In addition, there will be a change to the additional payment made to small employers in relation to SMP, SAP, OSPP and ASPP. Currently, employers who qualify for the small employers’ rate of reimbursement can recover 100% of the payments plus an additional amount of 4.5% in compensation for the employers’ share of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) due on the payments. From 6 April 2011, the additional amount will reduce to 3%, meaning small employers will be able to claim back a total of 103% of the SMP, SAP, OSPP and ASPP they pay out.
Additional paternity leave and pay
Although the various sets of regulations in relation to additional paternity leave and pay came into force in April last year, they only apply where the baby is due on or after 3 April 2011, or where the adoptive parents are notified of having been matched with the child for adoption on or after that date.
However, please note that the following provisions are NOT now coming into force in April 2011:
Extension of the statutory right to request time to train
The statutory right for employees to request time to train will not now be extended to cover employers who employ less than 250 employees. The right to request time to train will therefore continue to be available only to employees who work for employers with 250 or more employees.
Extension of the statutory right to request flexible working
The Government is to repeal the Flexible Working (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 that were due to come into force on 6 April 2011 extending the right to request flexible working to the parents of 17 year olds. The right to request flexible working will therefore continue to be available only to parents of children aged under 17 and disabled children under 18, and carers of certain adults.
