There are a number of changes taking effect from 1 October which will impact on employers.
The key changes include:
Changes to sex discrimination laws
The Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 came into force from 1 October. These amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Equal Pay Act 1970 to reflect current case law and to implement those provisions of the Directive amending the Equal Treatment Directive of 1976 (2002/73/EC) which are not already UK law. In particular the changes include a narrower definition of indirect sex discrimination and a new definition of harassment to cover both sex related and sexual harassment.
Changes to Employment Tribunal procedures and rules
New ET1 and ET3 forms for use in Employment Tribunal proceedings are now compulsory. In addition there are some minor amendments to the Employment Tribunal and EAT rules making changes to the provisions on national security cases.
Increase in the National Minimum Wage
The national minimum wage is increased to £5.05 for adult workers. The youth rate will increase to £4.25.
Industrial action changes
Certain changes relating to industrial action and trade union recognition came into force along with relevant revised codes of practice. The changes clarify employer's duties when notified of a recognition or derecognition ballot, deal with unfair practices in relation to recognition and derecognition ballots and amend the information to be contained in ballot notices.
