New Employment Legislation in Force with Effect from 6 April

A raft of new employment laws came into force on 6 April 2010. Among the changes were:

• a new system of fit notes which replace sick notes
• additional paternity leave and pay
• a new right for employees to request time off for study or training
• a power for employment tribunals to refer whistleblowing complaints to regulators
• new rules governing 'no win, no fee' agreements.

Sick Notes Replaced with Fit Notes

Sick notes have now been replaced by 'fit notes'. These will allow a doctor to indicate whether an employee is fit for some work and suggest changes that could be taken by the employer to an employee's work environment or job role to help facilitate a return to work. Employers will need to read the sick notes carefully, liaise with their employees and take reasonable steps to accommodate the doctor’s recommendations. A failure to do this could lead to claims of disability discrimination and constructive dismissal.

Additional Paternity Leave

Under the Additional Paternity Leave and Pay Regulations, fathers and partners (including same-sex and civil partners) will be able to have up to six months' additional paternity leave, provided the mother has returned to work without exercising her full entitlement to maternity leave. Some of the leave may be paid if it is taken during the mother's maternity pay period. The entitlement to 'transferable' paternity leave and pay applies to parents of children due (and adoptive parents notified of a match) on or after 3 April 2011. Employers may need to review existing policies to ensure that employees are informed of the forthcoming changes.

Time off for Study or Training

Section 40 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 introduces a new right for employees to request time off work to undertake study or training. It applies to employees with 26 weeks' service or more and employers are required to give serious consideration to all requests. Failure to do so could result in claims of detriment, constructive dismissal and possibly even discrimination, depending on the circumstances. This right will be phased in and has been made available to employees in organisations with 250 or more employees from 6th April 2010 before being extended to all employees from April 2011.

Whistleblowing Complaints to Regulators

Employment Tribunals can now, where the claimant consents, pass information about public interest disclosures to the relevant regulator. Employers who have broken the law will need to think long and hard about allowing a claim to proceed to a hearing, bearing in mind the risk of any alleged wrongdoing being reported to HMRC or other relevant regulator.
No Win – No Fee Agreements

The Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2010 will regulate the use of no win, no fee agreements in employment cases. DBAs (or contingency fee agreements) are a type of 'no win, no fee' agreement where the solicitor takes a percentage of the client's compensation in the event of a win or settlement. They are generally used to help employees make promising claims they would otherwise be unable to make because of the cost involved. The changes impose relatively minor contractual changes to the terms of no win, no fee agreements and are unlikely to have any effect on the numbers of claims.

To comment on this article or if you would like further Employment Law advice on Fit Notes, Paternity Leave or Whistleblowing, please contact Jenny Kinman, who specialises in Employment Law by clicking here