Welcome to the December edition of our monthly employment law update from the HR Division of Lander Associates. We hope you found last months update useful.

Vince Cable outlines Government’s employment law reform plans On 23 November 2011, Business Secretary Vince Cable gave a speech outlining the coalition Government's plans for employment law reform. On the same day, it set out its written response to the Resolving Workplace Disputes consultation, containing further details of many of the proposals: � Requiring complaints to be submitted to Acas for pre-claim conciliation before a tribunal claim can be

issued.

� Introducing "protected conversations" to allow employers to raise workplace issues "in an open way, free

from the worry it will be used as evidence in... tribunal".

� Simplifying compromise agreements.

� Creating a "rapid resolution scheme" as a quicker and cheaper alternative to tribunal for "more

straightforward matters" such as holiday pay disputes.

� Different fees for different types of tribunal claims, possibly with a higher fee for claims worth more than

£30,000. A consultation on fees will be published shortly.

� Doubling the unfair dismissal qualifying period to two years from April 2012 "to give greater confidence to

employers in recruiting new employees, without undermining workers' sense of job security".

� Improving CRB checks by making them instantly accessible online.

� "Simplifying and streamlining" the UK's recruitment sector by addressing unnecessarily complex rules on

employment businesses and agencies.

� Reviewing the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 in 18 months' time.

� Simplifying the 17 pieces of National Minimum Wage legislation into one set of regulations.

� Responding next year to Dame Carol Black's review of sickness absence

� Extending the right to request flexible working to everyone.

� A more modern system of parental leave that reflects the greater involvement of fathers in childcare.

Sick workers can carry over all 5.6 weeks' statutory holiday to next leave year In Adams and another v Harwich International Port Ltd, an Employment Judge has held that words can be read into the Working Time Regulations 1998 to enable workers to carry over their statutory annual leave entitlement (28 days) to the next leave year where they have been unable or unwilling to take it because of sickness. However, the Judge did not think that sick workers should be able to accumulate and carry over their leave entitlement from year to year indefinitely.

December 2011

Employment Law Update

International recruitment training specialists

Employer's termination notice issued by mistake could not be withdrawn In CF Capital v Willoughby, the employer gave notice to the employee

based on the false premise that they were in agreement about the terms of a new agency contract under which the employee would switch from employment to self-employment. Rejecting the employer's attempts to retract its notice and restore her employment when it learned that she was unwilling to accept the new contract, the employee claimed wrongful and unfair dismissal. The Court of Appeal upheld the EAT's decision that an employer could not retract a termination notice which was issued as a result of a misunderstanding. The notice was clear and unambiguous and intended to terminate the employee's contract. Therefore, it was not a "special circumstance" entitling the employer to retract the notice.

Wearing a poppy is not a protected belief under the Equality Act It was recently decided that an employee’s belief that a poppy should be worn as a mark of respect from All Souls Day until Remembrance Sunday was not a philosophical belief attracting the protection of the Equality Act 2010. The judge found that the practice lacked sufficient cogency, cohesion and importance for it to qualify as a protected belief under equality legislation.

ACAS publishes guidance on social networking The increased use of social networking and its misuse in the workplace are of concern to any employer. It is advisable to have an up-to-date policy in place. With this in mind, ACAS has published guidance covering the use of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. The guidance is broken down into the areas of: managing performance; discipline and grievances; recruitment; bullying; defamation and privacy; and data protection. More detail is available on the Advice and Guidance section of the ACAS website.

Annual tribunal statistics published Annual statistics have been published showing a fall in employment tribunal claims. During 2010-2011 there were 218,000 claims, an 8% fall from the 2009-2010 period. The number of unfair dismissal claims has decreased by 9,500 claims from last year. Age discrimination claims have increased by 1,600. The number of sex discrimination claims has increased by 100, whereas there are 700 fewer race discrimination claims this year. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and discrimination on the grounds of religious belief claims have also decreased.

Question of the month: Can an employee make a legal flexible working request in order to take Friday’s off to look after an elderly relative? The purpose of flexible working is to enable employees to work, not look after relatives. The employee here appears

to be suggesting he would be at home ‘working’ but the employer would

probably be justified in refusing this suggestion. The employer also doesn’t

really need to give one of the eight reasons to refuse as it isn’t really a flexible

working application in the first place.

Page 2

Employment Law update

This employment update is provided for

general information only and should not

be applied to specific circumstances

without advice.

visit www.landerassociates.co.uk for more information

‘5 star’ commercial HR support from recruitment sector specialists Lander HR

The Health-Check - half day just £599 Drive best practice, reduce inefficiency and keep your business legal � QUCK FIXES MADE ON THE DAY � Contracts, policies, handbooks � Administration � Performance/appraisal systems � Induction, training and development � Engagement/involvement � Salary and bonus schemes � Bids & tenders responses � IIP preparedness � Full recommendations

Regular HR Support or Ad-Hoc Consultancy

Your own HR Manager.....only when you need it � On-site support and/or phone and email � People strategy � Employment law � Internal recruitment � Assessment centres � Engagement/satisfaction surveys � Salary and bonus schemes � Performance/appraisal systems � Bids and tenders support � IIP planning

HR Workshops Open and in-company to drive performance � Competency based behavioural interviewing � Recruitment law 101 � Employment law 101 for managers � Employee engagement � Focus on managing performance � Other subjects available

Developing HR People Commercial up-skilling for your HR professionals � How HR makes money - driving credibility and results � Becoming a commercial business partner � Employment law essentials � Using behavioural competencies � Talent management from end to end � Performance management systems � 121 technical and performance coaching Why?

� We partner with you - no faceless contacts or generic advice! � Our experience spans years working in the recruitment sector – we get you! � Our consultants are ex HR Directors / senior HR professionals � Enjoy discounts when you partner with us with your other training needs

Page 3

Our HR Services

For more information on our HR services contact us now: Tel: 01582 791 838 Email: paul@landerassociates.co.uk www.landerassociates.co.uk