Employment Law Changes October 2011
From 1st October 2011, the following changes in employment law will take place. We lose the Default Retirement Age, the Agency Workers Regulations take effect and the National Minimum Wage rates increase.
National Minimum Wage Rates
From 1st October, all National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates will increase as follows:
- the main rate for workers aged 21 and over will increase to £6.08
- the 18-20 rate will increase to £4.98
- the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18 will increase to £3.68
- the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship will increase to £2.60
NMW rates are reviewed every year by the Low Pay Commission. Interestingly, when the NMW rates were introduced in 1999, the adult rate for workers aged 21 and over was £3.60 and the “development rate” for workers aged between 18 and 21 was £3.00. The rate for 16 – 17 year olds was introduced in 2004.
Questions about how to manage the increases or anything else to do with the National Minimum Wage rate increases? Get in touch.
Default Retirement Age (DRA)
We advised you back in April that the DRA was being phased out. 1st October sees the end of the DRA which means that employees can no longer be dismissed on the basis of them having reached a specific age. This will have an impact on some businesses more than others, depending on the age profile of your employees. We will be issuing additional notes and guidance soon but in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the impact on your business.
Agency Workers Regulations (AWR)
Yet another acronym to remember. This time, it’s the AWR taking effect from 1st October 2011. In a nutshell, the Regulations will provide agency workers with equal treatment in relation to a direct recruit of a hirer in terms of:
- Basic working and employment conditions – restricted to pay and working time
- Access to facilities provided by a hirer
- Access to information about job vacancies offered by a hirer
In order to qualify to receive equal pay and working conditions, an agency worker must meet the qualifying criteria which is that they must work for 12 weeks in the same role for the same hirer. A role will be the same role unless the work or duties that make up the role are substantively different from those in the previous role.
If you regularly hire temporary agency workers, you should be talking to the recruitment agency about the changes and how they affect you. We can also provide you with some overview guidance notes so please get in touch to request your copy.
