Equality Act
The new Government announced at the beginning of the month that the process of implementing the Equality Act will begin in October. This followed some uncertainty as to when the Act would be implemented.
The Equality Act introduces a range of changes to employment law —including, extending the definition of direct discrimination to cover ‘associative’ and ‘perceptive’ cases, reworking the concept of disability related discrimination, limiting the use of pre-employment health questions and introducing more specific duties for organisations that exercise public functions.
Are you prepared? Our advice is that, as an employer, in preparation for the implementation of the Equality Act, you should:
- Review and update relevant policies—your equal opportunities policy, bullying and harassment procedures and your recruitment and promotion policies.
- Provide your staff with training on equality and diversity.
- Review employment contracts that include a salary secrecy clause.
We have produced an Equality Act Guide for HR Professionals which explains what the Act means for you. For your free copy and to discuss the implications of the legislation, please contact Anna Dabek at anna.dabek@anthonycollins.com
TUPE
The TUPE Regulations, which protect the rights of employees when a business transfers, are a legal minefield. We want to ensure that you are as well equipped as possible to meet the challenges the Regulations present.
You are invited to our free training event—TUPE tendering—managing the risks when staff transfer, which is being held at our offices this Wednesday, 14 July 2010. Douglas Mullen will be leading the session. How can I learn more about TUPE? For more information please email Doug at douglas.mullen@anthonycollins.com
New Government
The new Coalition Government has announced its Programme for Government. Employment proposals include :
- Extending the right to request flexible working to all employees
- Phasing out the default retirement age.
- Looking to promote equal pay and gender equality on the board of listed companies
- A policy of one in one out for new regulations— i.e. if one is passed, another is out.
- Limiting of the application of the Working Time Directive.
- Flexible parental leave between parents.
We will keep you informed in future updates as the Coalition’s plans develop. For more information contact Matthew Gregson at matthew.gregson@anthonycollins.com
Meet the Employment team
For contact details for members of our specialist Employment team please click on the link below to download a convenient brochure as a PDF.