Equality Act 2010 – it’s here!
The majority of the provisions of this long awaited Act come into force today. This Act seeks to harmonise the various strands of discrimination legislation and introduces the concept of “protected characteristics”.
For further details about the Act and what employers should consider see our previous update, Equality Act 2010 – are you ready?
Minimum Wage increase
The annual increase in the national minimum wage comes into force today. The principal rate increases from £5.80 to £5.93 per hour (now payable from age 21). The other rates are:
- £4.92 per hour for 18-20 year olds (a 1.9% increase on the previous £4.83 rate); and
- £3.64 per hour for 16-17 year olds (a 2% increase on the previous £3.57 rate).
Hot off the press…
The Government has announced that the right to request flexible working will be extended to parents of children under 18 years old from April 2011. A consultation on extending the right to all employees, and the introduction of a flexible parental leave system, will be published later this year.
Currently, the right to request flexible working is available to parents of children aged under 17 and disabled children under 18, and carers of certain adults. The Government claims that the initial extension should benefit 288,000 employees and make it simpler to identify whether an employee is eligible to make a request. The consultation is also likely to include details of a parental leave system that encourages shared parenting from the beginning of a pregnancy, as stated in the Coalition Government’s legislative programme.
Contact Wayne Smith at Integra if you want to discuss how the Equality Act 2010 or any other employment law issue affects your business at wayne.smith@integralegal.co.uk