2014 is beckoning and will bring with it important changes to the Employment Law landscape. Here are some of the features of the new entries in the year to come:
1.TUPE Changes
The Government has confirmed that the new TUPE Regulations will come into force from 31st January 2014, including a new provision enabling a transferee to consult pre-transfer with representatives of transferring employees for the purposes of complying with the collective redundancy rules.
2. Discrimination Questionnaires Revoked
The much maligned?questionnaire procedure is abolished with effect from 6th April 2014. The questionnaires were used by potential claimants as a method of gathering information, documents and answers to questions usually before claims were brought but it was often viewed as a way of making employers’ lives more difficult.
3. ACAS Early Conciliation?
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 introduces a requirement for potential claimants to lodge details of their proposed employment tribunal claim with ACAS in the first instance from 6 April 2014, whereupon Acas will offer the parties the opportunity to engage in conciliation with a conciliation officer.
?4. Financial Penalties for Employers in breach of law
From April 2014, the same Act gives tribunals the power to impose a financial penalty on?employers that are in breach of employment rights where the breach has one or more aggravating features.
5.?Extension?for pension automatic enrolment
The period for?employers to?auto-enroll eligible employees into a qualifying pension scheme increases from one month to six weeks on 1 April 2014.
6.Introduction of Equal Pay Audits
From October 2014,?Employment Tribunals are required to order an equal pay audit where the employer has breached the equal pay provisions under the Equality Act 2010, except in prescribed circumstances.
In addition to the above, there are the usual hikes in statutory payments such as SSP,SMP etc scheduled in April 2014 and an increase in the National Minimum Wage from 1st October with the amount to be decided in the Spring.
THE PINNACLE PARTNERSHIP wishes everyone a joyous New Year – let’s hope it’s a good one!!
Contact us if you need assistance or advice on any matter related to Employment Law
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