Healthy Business

Employment law: recent changes

Recently, three big changes have taken place in employment law –all of which are likely to affect businesses to some degree. With an ageing UK population –over 10 million people in the country are over age 65 – it was perhaps inevitable that there would be a change in the legislation relating to retirement age. And from the beginning of October, the default retirement age has been discontinued, meaning that from now on workers will be able to retire at a point that suits them rather than be compulsorily retired at 65. While the change has been controversial, the CIPD’s Dianah Worman believes the change ‘opens up new opportunities’ for employers, and that many employers already work without an upper limit on the age of employees.

New rules for temporary staff also came into effect at the beginning of October, with changes to the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR). Perhaps the most important update for employers here is that agency workers will now be given the same basic rights as full staff members, after 12 weeks of employment under a temporary contract. Agency staff are now also entitled to the same pay and conditions as permanent colleagues, plus access to available staff facilities like a canteen, workplace crèche, and car parking.  More info on the new AWR is available in this guide from the Department for Business Innovation & Skills.

And finally, the other big change in workplace legislation recently is the new increase in the national minimum wage, from £5.93 to £6.08 – a move which ‘reflects the current uncertainty’ over the economy, according to the government’s business secretary.

What do you think of the new changes to workplace legislation –overdue improvements or compliance nightmare? Let us know in the comments…