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October employment changes: what you need to know
9 October 2008
Agency workers
Agency workers on contracts of less than three months are from
27 October 2008 entitled to statutory sick pay during periods of
sickness absence.
Employers' liability
From 1 October 2008 Employers can display their
employers' liability insurance certificate in electronic form so
long as it is reasonably accessible to employees (Employers'
Liability (Compulsory Insurance (Amendment) Regulations 2008).
The national minimum wage
The adult rate of the national minimum wage rises
from £5.52 to £5.73 per hour; the development rate rises from £4.60
to £4.77; and the rate for workers aged 16 and 17 rises from £3.40
to £3.53 per hour.
Maternity and adoption
leave
For those whose expected week of childbirth or
adoption is on or after 5 October 2008 the following changes will
apply.
The right to all benefits (apart from
remuneration) will continue during additional maternity leave as if
they had not been absent. These include reimbursement of
professional subscriptions, health benefits, company cars, company
mobile and contractual holiday entitlement.
The employer’s liability to pay pension
contributions, however, is limited by Schedule 5 of the Social
Security Act 1989 to the period of paid maternity leave (39 weeks
for Statutory Maternity Pay but it could be longer if the contract
provides for maternity pay for a longer period). The employer’s
contribution is based on full pay but the employee’s contribution
is based on their maternity pay.
Employment and support
allowance
A new requirement to have a work
capability assessment in order to claim disability benefits is to
be phased in over the next two years from 27 October 2008.
Those considered to have some capacity to work will be required to
make efforts to find employment or lose payments. The Department
for Work and Pensions estimates that the new assessment will only
reduce the number of people entitled to full benefits by 60,000.
However, other commentators have suggested that the figure may be
closer to 1.3 million. A significant number of disabled applicants
may therefore come into the labour market.
Employers must ensure that they give proper consideration to
such applicants - otherwise they may face costly disability
discrimination claims. It should not be assumed, for example, that
because they have not worked for a lengthy period that they lack
skills or are ‘work-shy’. Those applicants whose condition
qualifies under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) are
entitled to have reasonable adjustments made to working conditions
and premises to overcome any disadvantages they would face in
employment as a result of their disability. Thought must be given
to how realistic adjustments might be made for them as part of the
application process.
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