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Issue 111 (May 2006)

Contents

In the News
Expiry Date
Contemplating Dismissal
Towards a Trade Union Freedom Bill
Talk Up
Part Time Pensions
Roll Up, Roll Up
Pension Pot

In the News

Tell All

Following the introduction of new laws in 2005, far more employees now have the right to be informed and consulted on issues that matter to them in the companies they work for.

So the DTI has launched a company visits scheme for HR professionals and managers to see first-hand how some companies have already benefited from implementing systems to inform and consult their employees.

The campaign offers employers a range of practical tools, such as Acas training workshops, to help them re-assess their current practices towards two-way communication.

It is directed at organisations with 150 or more employees – that is businesses that are currently covered by the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004.

For further information see www.iandc.dti.gov.uk

Flexible Fathers

Two new pieces of research – from the TUC and DTI – show that more and more fathers are asking to work flexibly.

The DTI says, in its 2005 Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey, that almost triple the number of new dads now work flexi-time (31 per cent) up from 11 per cent in 2002, as a result of the right to ask to work flexibly.

The TUC report Out of Time agrees that more men are asking to work flexibly, but points out they are also far more likely to have their requests turned down than women.

It calls for a new approach to the way that work is organised, arguing that greater flexibility at work should be available to everyone, not just parents and carers.

Go to: www.dti.gov.uk/er/emar/maternity_paternity_errs50.pdf for the DTI report. For the TUC report, go to: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/outoftime.pdf

DTI Consults

The DTI is currently consulting on ending discrimination by businesses and organisations that provide goods, facilities and services to lesbian and gay customers.

The consultation closes on 5 June, and the regulations should be in force by October.

For a copy of the consultation document, go to: www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk

It is also consulting on new rules to extend paternity leave to allow fathers to take up to 26 weeks, some of which could be paid.

The consultation closes on 31 May and the new rules are due to come into force in April 2007.

Out at Work

Following changes to the law on discrimination at work and the introduction of civil partnerships, the TUC has produced a guide to review workplace policies and practices on lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans issues.

The idea is to help workplace reps to negotiate appropriate changes with their employers.

The guide explains the legal rights available to LGBT workers, but also looks at workplace negotiating issues including pensions and other benefits, time off, bullying and harassment and domestic violence. It devotes an entire section to whether employers should monitor sexuality and gender identity and provides some outline principles.

The Latest Trade Union Statistics

Every year, the DTI publishes its annual statistical report on trade union membership in the UK. Based on labour force survey data for autumn last year, the key findings of Trade Union Membership 2005 show that:

• Almost six and a half million employees are trade union members, a fall of almost two per cent on the year before.
• Less than one in five private sector employees are union members.
• Almost three in five public sector employees are union members.
• The number of male trade union members fell by approximately 121,000 in 2005, while female employees in trade unions rose by approximately 3,000.
• Union members averaged £11.98 per hour in autumn 2005, 17.6 per cent more than the earnings of non-union employees.
Go to: www.dti.gov.uk/er/emar/trade.htm

Success at Work

Protecting vulnerable workers, cracking down on rogue employers and lightening the load for legitimate business will be the focus of the Government's employment relations policy for this Parliament, according to a recent report by the DTI.

In its strategy paper; 'Success at Work - protecting vulnerable workers, supporting good employers' the Government has said it will:

• end the loophole that allows UK employers to include bank holidays as part of employees’ minimum paid holiday entitlement
• provide a comprehensive approach to identifying and helping vulnerable workers, as well as cracking down on employers operating illegally
• ensure targeted enforcement clamps on rogue employers
• ensure employees have better awareness of their employment rights.
Go to: www.dti.gov.uk/er/successatwork.htm for a copy of the document.

Possible Breach of Working Time

In the case of Commission -v- United Kingdom, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that the UK Government is in breach of the working time regulations. Although the ECJ does not always follow his opinion, it does so more often than not.

There were two aspects to the case, the first of which (about “partly unmeasured working time”) has already been resolved by the Government, and arose out of a complaint from Amicus.

This affected people who have some of their working time pre-determined by their employer, but who voluntarily work longer hours. Those voluntary hours were not included in the protection originally provided by the regulations. This regulation has now been removed, with effect from 6 April.

The second complaint centred on the UK Government’s failure to “require” employers to make sure that workers took their minimum daily and weekly rest periods, as opposed to “making sure” they could take them.

Secret Agent

Following the decision in Dacas -v- Brook Street Bureau (LELR 88), the Court of Appeal in Cable & Wireless -v- Muscat has confirmed that an agency worker can be an implied employee of the end user.

This decision does not mean, however, that tribunals will now find that all agency workers are implied employees. Their status will depend on the facts of each case.

Having said that, the court could not imagine a case in which a worker was found to have no recognised status, either as an employee or as a self-employed independent contractor.

Just Junk It

Following the decision by the European Court of Justice in Junk -v- Kuhnel (LELR 98), the Government has launched a 12 week consultation on proposals to make a minor change to the law on collective redundancies.

The amendment makes clear that employers must inform the Secretary of State about any proposed redundancies before they issue any dismissal notices. Otherwise the notification would relate to actual rather than proposed redundancies.

Employers also have to consult with appropriate representatives of the affected employees “in good time”, and again before any dismissal notices have been handed out.

The consultation closes on 9 June. To download a copy, go to: www.dti.gov.uk/er/collective_redundancies.pdf

Minimum Wage

About 1.3 million workers will be guaranteed higher pay when the minimum wage rises in October.

The adult hourly rate will rise from £5.05 to £5.35; the rate for workers aged 18 to 21 from £4.25 to £4.45; and the rate for workers aged 16 to 17 from £3.00 to £3.30.

The Government has also announced it will:
• accept the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission that salary sacrifice schemes, including those for childcare vouchers, should not count towards the minimum wage
• consider the recommendation that the Commission reviews the apprenticeship exemptions in 2008
• take into account the recommendation that enforcement should be stepped up in sectors that employ migrant workers.