The Employment Law Timetable for 2012
16 Jan 2012
Happy New Year from the Employment Team at Davenport Lyons.
Following the Government's shake up of employment law in 2011, there is much to look forward to in the year ahead.
The key changes we are expecting to see this year are as follows:
31 January
Closure date for Government's call for evidence on the effectiveness of TUPE and the scope of the Collective Redundancy rules.
1 February
Compensation award limits for Unfair Dismissal claims increase from £68,400 to £72,300.
Maximum amount of week’s pay, used to calculate Statutory Redundancy Pay (and the basic and additional awards for unfair dismissal) will increase from £400 to £430.
March
Consultation on introducing fees in Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal to close on 6 March.
The permitted period of parental leave increases from 3 to 4 months (The Parental Leave Directive (2010/18/EC)) from 8 March.
April
Standard rates for Statutory Maternity, Paternity and Adoption pay increase from £124.88 to £135.45 per week from 1 April.
Standard rate for Statutory Sick Pay increases from £81.60 to £85.85 per week from 6 April.
Qualifying period for Unfair Dismissal will increase from 1 year to 2 years from 6 April.
Substantial changes to Employment Tribunal procedure expected to take effect from 6 April, such as:
- The maximum amount of a deposit order to increase from £500 to £1,000.
- The maximum amount of a costs order to increase from £10,000 to £20,000.
- Changes to witness statements - no longer to be read aloud, but be taken "as read"
- Tribunals to have the power to direct the parties to a dispute are responsible for paying witnesses' expenses and that the party who loses the case should reimburse the successful party for any such costs already paid out.
- Employment judges to hear unfair dismissal cases alone in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal, unless they direct otherwise.
Income Tax Personal Allowance threshold to increase by £630, taking it to £8,105 from 6 April.
The lower earnings limit for primary Class 1 National insurance contributions to increase from £102 to £107 from 6 April.
Basic state pension is expected to increase from £102.15 to £107.45 per week from 9 April.
1 October
Large employers (those with over 50 employees) will have to automatically enrol employees into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and make mandatory employer contributions.
Other developments for 2012 proposed but not yet confirmed
National Minimum Wage to increase, dependent on what the Low Pay Commission recommends in February.
All Employment Tribunal claims to be referred to ACAS in the first instance.
Financial penalties to be imposed on employers that breach employment rights.
Whistleblowing legislation to be amended so that employees can no longer make a Protected Disclosure about a breach of their employment contract.
