Legal News from Martin Spittle, Colston Bush

Employment Act 2008

The dispute resolution provisions in the Employment Act 2008 came into force on 6^th April 2009.  The Employment Act 2008 changed the legislation governing how employers and employees resolve issues dealing with discipline, dismissal and grievances.  The intention is that the new procedures will be simpler and more flexible and will hopefully save time, money and stress.  Employers should benefit from greater opportunities to resolve disputes before reaching the stage of an employment tribunal, with increased emphasis on alternatives such as mediation.  The Acas Code came into effect on 6^th April and replaces the previous Acas Code on discipline and grievance handling which was issued in 2004.

The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has produced a helpful leaflet, which has already been distributed to some employers.  This covers mediation, pre-claim conciliation and the Acas Code of Practice.  The following contact points are given in the leaflet:

www.businesslink.gov.uk/resolvingdisputes

www.acas.org.uk/drr

Acas Helpline:  08457 474747

08.00 – 20.00 Monday to Friday 09.00 – 13.00 on Saturday

Holiday Pay

From 1^st April 2009 an employee’s minimum entitlement to paid annual leave increases from 24 days to 28 days for those working a five day week.  The 28 days can include time off for bank and public holidays.

From 1^st April 2009, in most cases, the employer can no longer replace leave with a payment-in-lieu even if the employee makes such a request.

A helpful guide to employing people can be found on:

www.businesslink.gov.uk/employingpeople