Employment Issues

I have not used the blog for a while. I intend to use it more and would welcome comments,

Paid Holidays
The Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007 have just been issued after the end of the consultation period. The minimum paid annual holiday entitlement for full-time workers of 24 days still comes into force from 1st October 2007. However, the second stage increase from 24 to 28 has been delayed until 1st April 2009.

A new provision in the regulations is that employers will be able to pay staff in lieu of the extra days, i.e. 20 to 24 (4 in total) until 1st April 2009 – but not, of course, for the original 20!

Sorry, there is no opt-out for small businesses.

“Gingerism”
My latest edition of the CIPD journal reports a case from Plymouth where a woman successfully claimed unfair dismissal after she was harassed because of her hair colour. The employment tribunal found that she had been subjected to ‘regular sexual harassment and innuendo” after being taunted about the colour of her hair and experiencing lewd and embarrassing comments.

Some may find this funny but an award against the ex-employer of £17,618 is not so humorous, plus the costs of defending the claim. As a first level tribunal case it is not a precedent but watch out.

The story points that there have been cases in US were discrimination on grounds of tattoos and facial piercings can be a form of religious discrimination. Do they not say that the weather comes from the US?
The bottom line is "get to know how your staff behave towards each other – you could be liable if you don’t have policies and raise awareness!"

Age Discrimination - Interviews
In May, the Director of the Equality Tribunal in the Republic of Ireland published a decision on age discrimination likely to be relevant in the UK.

In the case, the complainant was asked questions about his age at an early stage of the interview process, including questions on the application form such as "living with parents/ renting/ mortgaged accommodation", "number of children", "age" and "date of birth".

The complainant provided incorrect information, objecting the questions were "irrelevant and invasive". He was not given the job, despite being suitable for it. The Equality Officer held that he had been discriminated against on grounds of his age, and awarded him 5,000 Euro.
. . . and finally

Maternity Leave for Fathers

The provision to transfer up to 26 weeks’ additional paternity leave on top of the existing two weeks’ paid leave is out for consultation. There will be an administrative obligation for employers to check the father’s entitlement. On the positive side, the draft suggests that father’s should give a minimum of eight weeks’ notice. Target date is 1st April 2008, I will keep you informed.