Forties People

and how it might affect your business...

October has already been a busy month for our legislators, and there are a number of new laws which have come into operation recently...

Centralised vetting system for people working with children & vulnerable adults (came into force 12.10.09) The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act will introduce a centralised vetting system for people banned from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Employers will be able to make checks online, with information updated straight away when any individual is added to the list. Employers will be informed where possible if an individual becomes barred. There will be fines of up to £5,000 for employers that knowingly employ individuals on the list or fail to make the relevant checks. The Act can be viewed on the UK Parliament website.

Legislation which came into force 1.10.09
National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2009
The Regulations increase the rate of the NMW; the main rate rises from £5.73 per hour to £5.80 per hour and the development rate from £4.77 per hour to £4.83 per hour.

The rate for workers aged 16 to 17 years increases from £3.53 to £3.57 per hour.

The Regulations also specify new classes of persons who do not qualify for the NMW and increase the day value of the accommodation amount that can be taken into account where an employer provides an employee with housing from £4.46 to £4.51.

And there are further changes afoot. From October 2010, the main NMW will be extended to workers aged 21, following recommendations from the Low Pay Commission. The commission also recommended that there should be a minimum wage for apprentices. The government is also looking at the commission's recommendation that there should be information available on employers that wilfully disregard the law on the minimum wage.

Gillie Scoular, a partner at Mills & Reeve, comments that: “The government estimates that nearly one million workers will be affected by these increases. Because the rises are so modest it thinks the net cost to employers will be negligible, as average earnings are likely to show a larger increase.“

Employers prevented from including tips in minimum wage
The NMW legislation has also been amended to stop employers using tips to top up staff pay in order to meet the NMW. Employers will not now be permitted to take into account any gratuity payments paid to workers directly, paid by the employer through its payroll or paid through a troncmaster.

However, according to Jo Stubbs, editor of XpertHR: “there is still no obligation on employers under the minimum wage legislation to ensure that employees receive the full value of any tips paid by the customers they serve. Restaurant customers keen to ensure that the individual who has served them receives the full value of their tip should pay it directly to them in cash."

Nevertheless, the move has generally been welcomed across the industry. Jens Hofma, chief executive, Pizza Hut UK & Ireland, says:"We're pleased that the industry will no longer be able to exploit staff by using customer tips to top-up staff wages. We've always made sure our staff receive 100% of their tips, as we strongly believe they should be rewarded for providing an excellent service. Customers shouldn't be hoodwinked into contributing to company profits."

Work and Families (Increase of Maximum Amount) Order 2009
The Order increases the maximum weekly amount from £350 to £380 that can be used by employment tribunals to calculate awards such as unfair dismissal and redundancy payments and payments made by the Secretary of State out of the National Insurance Fund on an employer's insolvency. The Order also suspends the uplifting of this sum in February 2010.

Kate Holbrook of Dechert believes that: “This increased level of termination liability will have an adverse financial effect on employers who are struggling more than ever in the current economic climate.”

Supreme Court Rules 2009
The Supreme Court Rules prescribe the practice and procedure that will apply in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Supreme Court will replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and comes into operation on 1 October 2009.

Data Protection (Notification & Notification Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2009
The Regulations amend the fee that must be paid by a data controller to register with the Information Commissioner. A data controller must be included on the register of data controllers maintained by the Information Commissioner in order to process personal data.

Under a new two-tier structure, public authorities and private organisations that have been in existence for more than one month, have annual turnover of at least £25.9m and have 250 or more employees (Tier 2 organisations) will be subject to a £500 registration fee. The previous flat fee of £35 will still apply to all other, Tier 1 organisations. Charities and small occupational schemes will always fall into Tier 1 regardless of size and turnover.

“The aim is to ensure the fee structure is fairer, reflecting the resources invested by the ICO in regulating larger organisations. It will result in a significant increase in fees for these larger organisations, especially where there is often more than one data controller within the group,” says solicitor Catriona Aldridge, from Dundas & Wilson.

Credits: personneltoday.com, XpertHR.
Unless otherwise specified, the rules and regulations can be viewed on the OPSI website.