Changes in Employment Law in April 2011

A number of important changes in employment law will take effect in April 2011. These include:

• From 6th April 2011, the default retirement age will be abolished.

• Provisions in the Equality Act 2010 will come into force, including on 6th April 2011 provisions relating to positive action in recruitment and promotion and on 5th April 2011the general public sector equality duties.

• The right to additional paternity leave will be available to parents of babies due on or after 3rd April 2011 and to adoptive parents who are notified that they have been matched with a child for adoption on or after that date.

• From 3rd April 2011, the standard weekly payment rates will increase for the following payments: 

1. Statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay and maternity allowance will increase from £124.88 to £128.73. The weekly earnings threshold for all the statutory payments detailed above except maternity allowance, which remains unchanged, will rise from £97 to £102 per week.
2. Statutory sick pay will increase from £79.15 to £81.60 per week, with the weekly earnings threshold rising from £97 to £102 per week. 

• From 1st April 2011, companies with fewer than 10 employees and genuine start up businesses, as defined by HMRC, will be exempt from new domestic regulations for three years.

Some other changes which it had previously been expected would take place in April 2011 are no longer going ahead. These include:

• The right to request flexible working will not be extended to children under 18 years of age from 6th April 2011. The current provisions which remain in force mean that the right to request flexible working is available in respect of children under 17, or under 18 if the child is disabled.

• The specific public sector equality duties contained in the Equality Act 2010 will not come into force until July 2011 and there is no date yet when the provisions on dual discrimination will come into force.

• The government has revoked legislation extending the right to request time off for training to all employees from 6th April 2011. The right continues to exist for employees working for companies with 250 or more employees.

For more employment law advice or to comment on this article contact us to speak to one of our employment law specialists.