06 April 2005

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Key Changes Implemented 6 April 2005

The Employment Relations Act 2004 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2005

This Order sets out the provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2004 which come into force on 6 April. A number of the provisions relate to union recognition, procedures determined by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) and industrial action. Significant provisions include clarifying how the appropriate bargaining unit is to be determined by the CAC and amending protections for employees taking lawfully organised, official industrial action. The protected period is extended from 8 to 12 weeks and "locked out" days are disregarded when calculating this period.

Other important provisions deal with a number of rights for workers and employees. Employees will now have the right not to be dismissed or treated detrimentally because they serve on a jury or are summoned to do so. Selection for redundancy, where the reason or one of the principal reasons is connected to an employee's jury service, will be treated as unfair dismissal. Other provisions extend protection to those taking advantage of the statutory provisions relating to flexible working, protecting them in respect of unfair dismissal. Unfair dismissal claims in relation to jury service and flexible working can be made at any time and are not subject to any specific length of service.

The full Order can be accessed by clicking on or copying and pasting the following link: http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050872.htm

The Transfer of Employment (Pension Protection) Regulations 2005

The Pensions Act 2004 requires new employers to provide transferred employees with a substantial pension contribution after a business transfer where the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations apply. The Regulations provide the detail of the contribution requirements to a defined contribution or stakeholder pension scheme and set out alternative options for a defined benefit occupational pension scheme. The changes will affect business transfers that occur after the 6 April 2005. A copy of the Regulations can be accessed by clicking on or copying and pasting the following link: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/

Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations

The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations implement EC Directive 2002/14/EC, which establishes a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community. From 6 April employees of employers with 150 or more employees in the UK will have new rights to be informed and consulted by their employers on an on-going basis about developments in the organisations they work for. For further information click on or copy and paste the following link: http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/consultation/proposal.htm

Statutory Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay Dispute Resolution Regulations

From 6 April the Statutory Maternity Pay Regulations and the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay Regulations are amended to provide that where an employee is dismissed and is subsequently reinstated or re-engaged as a consequence of a statutory dispute resolution procedure their employment will be treated as continuous for the purposes of calculating statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP) or statutory adoption pay (SAP).

Standard Rates

The standard rates of SMP, SPP and SAP will be increased to £106 per week (or 90% of the person's average weekly earnings if that is less than £106) from Sunday 3 April 2005. The standard rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be increased to £68.20 per week from 6 April 2005.

If you would like more information about the key employment law changes coming into force, please contact Simon Jeffreys at simon.jeffreys@cmck.com or on +44 (0) 20 7367 3421 or Anthony Fincham at anthony.fincham@cmck.com or on +44 (0) 20 7367 2783 or Alexander Green at alexander.green@cmck.com or on +44 (0)1224 622002.

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