As of the 1st October 2007 the National Minimum Wage increased as detailed below:

• Workers aged 22 and over - £5.52
• Workers aged 18-21 -         £4.60
• Workers aged 16-17 -         £3.40

As of the 1st October 2008 the National Minimum Wage will be:

• Workers aged 22 and over - £5.73
• Workers aged 18-21 -         £4.77
• Workers aged 16-17 -         £3.53

For more information please contact you local Select consultant or visit www.berr.gov.uk.

There are a number of key employment law changes expected to be introduced in 2008. Amongst these are the introduction of new illegal working fines in February, changes to sex discrimination legislation in April and the coming into force of corporate manslaughter laws in April.

Employment Rights (Increase of Limits)

This order is expected to come into force from 1 February 2008 and will ensure that businesses source migrant labour through legal means or face severe penalties. This comes as part of the Home Office’s comprehensive programme to reform Britain’s immigration controls.

The Government is setting out new measures to prevent illegal working following a consultation with UK businesses. Under a new system of civil penalties, employers who negligently hire illegal workers could face a maximum fine of £10,000 for each illegal worker found at a business. If employers are found to have knowingly hired illegal workers that could incur an unlimited fine and be sent to prison. These proposed penalties form part of the biggest immigration shake-up for forty years.

For more information, please visit the Border & Immigration Agency at www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk

Changes to the Sex Discrimination Act

The Equal Opportunities Commission was successful in an application for a judicial review of the implementation of the Equal Treatment Directive through the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005, which amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The High Court found that the Regulations did not adequately implement the Equal Treatment Directive and the Government is obliged to make appropriate amendments to the Act. These changes were originally meant to come into force on 1 October 2007 but they have been postponed and are due for implementation as of 1 April 2008.

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007

As of 6 April 2008, new laws on corporate manslaughter will be introduced. These laws will create a new offence of corporate manslaughter (or corporate homicide in Scotland) which would allow businesses to be prosecuted for management failures that lead to the deaths of employees and others.

For more information and to read the full Act, please visit the Office of Public Sector Information at www.opsi.gov.uk.

Traditional family structures have been decreasing in recent years and more parents are working harder, resulting in them seeing less of their family and children. Due to these changes, the Government has set some policy objectives to make the workplace more family friendly.

A summary of the main changes to family friendly policies are shown below.

As of the 1st April 2007:

• All pregnant employees are entitled to take up to one year off, irrespective of length of service.
• Paid maternity and adoption leave has been extended from 26 weeks to 39 weeks. The Government has pledged to increase this to 12 months by 2010.
• Statutory maternity pay increases to £112.75 per week and is paid for 39 weeks, although for statutory purposes Ordinary Maternity Leave and Additional Maternity Leave remain at 6 months.
• An employee returning to work after Ordinary Maternity Leave is entitled to their old job back. If they return after Additional Maternity Leave they are entitled to their old job or a similar one with no less favourable terms and conditions. This now applies to all employers, regardless of size of workforce.

As of the 6th April 2007:

• An employee who cares or expects to care for an adult can apply to their employer to work flexibly. The employee must have completed at least 26 weeks’ employment and the adult they care for has to be their spouse, civil partner, relative, cohabitee or any person at the same address.

There was a fear that flexible working could decrease productivity - however research suggests productivity in the workplace has actually increased. The RAC reported to the Equal Opportunities Commission that their productivity has increased by 8% since introducing a policy to allow their employees to work their annual hours flexibly.

The statutory holiday entitlement is changing and as of the 1st October there have been some important changes to workers’ rights to annual leave.

Prior to the 1st October 2007, workers were entitled to 4 weeks holiday per year, which equated to 20 days for those working a five day week. Employers that allowed workers to take the 8 English bank holidays could include these within the 4 week allocation – this has now changed.

The holiday entitlement has increased to 4.8 weeks (24 days for those working a five day week) from 1 October 2007. This will increase again to 5.6 weeks (28 days for those working a five day week) from 1 April 2009.

These changes relate to businesses in England, Scotland and Wales.

Businesses that currently give their staff the bank holidays in addition to the 4 weeks annual leave (or more days than the new rules provide for) do not need to worry about the new provisions as they are already legally compliant.

A new law has been introduced to protect employees and the public from the harmful effects of second hand smoke.

As of the 1st July 2007 it is against the law to smoke in virtually all enclosed and substantially enclosed public places and work places.

What you need to do:

• Remove any staff smoking rooms and indoor smoking areas
• Ensure that public transport and work vehicles used by more than one person are smoke free
• Display no-smoking signs in all smoke free premises and vehicles
• Take reasonable steps to ensure that staff, customers and visitors are aware that premises and vehicles are legally required to be smoke free
• Ensure that no-one smokes in smoke free premises and vehicles as you will be held legally responsible

Additional steps you may want to take:

• Develop a smoke free company policy
• Offer training to staff to ensure they understand the new legislation and their responsibilities
• Provide your staff with support and advice on how to stop smoking

Penalties for non-compliance:

• Smoking in smoke free premises or vehicles will result in the person smoking having to pay a fixed penalty notice of £50 or a maximum fine of £200 if prosecuted and convicted by a court
• Failure to display no-smoking signs will result in the company having to pay a fixed penalty notice of £200 or a maximum fine of £1,000 if prosecuted and convicted by a court
• Failing to prevent smoking in a smoke free place will result in the company having to pay a maximum fine of £2,500 (there is no fixed penalty notice for this offence)