Government publishes response to consultation on maternity and adoption leave and pay regulations.

Government has published its response to the public consultation on the draft maternity and adoption leave and pay regulations and laid draft maternity and adoption leave regulations before Parliament (see External Links). See (Related Links - Work and Families:Choice and Flexibility) for the summary of responses and Government Response, and a full Regulatory Impact Assessment. Regulations on maternity and adoption pay will be laid before Parliament shortly.

Government announces new terms of reference for Low Pay Commission

New terms of reference for the Low Pay Commission (LPC), which advises the Government on the national minimum wage, were published by DTI today.

Under the new terms the LPC is asked to:

• Continue to monitor, evaluate and review the NMW and its impact, with particular reference to the effect on pay, employment and competitiveness in the low paying sectors and small firms; the effect on different groups of workers, including different age groups, ethnic minorities, women and people with disabilities; the effect on pay structures; and taking into account the forthcoming changes to the statutory annual leave entitlement.

The LPC has been asked to report to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by the end of February 2007.

More information on the national minimum wage can be found on the pay webpage.

The Government launches a consultation on increasing the statutory holiday entitlement.

On 13 June, the Government launched an initial consultation on proposals to increase the statutory holiday entitlement to reflect the number of permanent bank and public holidays. Under these proposals, the leave entitlement for someone working full-time would increase from 20 days to 28 days, pro-rata for part-time staff. More information can be found on the holiday entitlement webpage.

Government launches public consultation to amend the Schedules to the Employment Act 2002

On 16 May 2006, the Government launched a public consultation on proposals to make a minor amendment to the Schedules of the Employment Act 2002.  The proposed amendment will add three employment rights to the Schedules and will therefore bring them within the scope of the dispute resolution procedure.

A copy of the consultation can be found (see related documents)

ECJ decides that employers no longer allowed to ‘roll-up’ holiday pay

The European Court of Justice has held that payment for minimum annual leave through a system of ‘rolled-up holiday pay’ rather than by means of a payment in respect of a specific period during which the worker actually takes leave, is contrary to the Working Time Directive.

The Court also held that Member States are required to take measures to ensure that practices, which are incompatible with the Directive are not continued. More information is available on Working Time Regulations pages.
 

Government launches strategy to protect vulnerable workers and support good employers

On 30 March 2006, the Government launched its strategy to protect vulnerable workers and support good employers.  The document sets out the Government’s commitments on employment relations with an increased focus on vulnerable workers and those who exploit them. More information can be found on Success at Work pages.
 

Sutcliffe announces Union Modernisation Fund winners

Innovative projects to help trade unions adapt to meet the challenges of the modern workplace were announced on 20 March 2006 by Employment Relations Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. For full announcement and winners click here.

The Government has launched a 12 week consultation on proposals to make a minor change to the law on collective redundancies concerning the duty on employers to inform the Secretary of State about collective redundancies. 


In April 2006, the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) will join the Tribunals Service, a new government agency within the Department for Constitutional Affairs. In partnership with the DCA, ETS is looking to appoint a Chair and two independent members to a new Employment Tribunals. Further details may be found at www.publicappointments.gov.uk

The DTI, working with HSE, CBI, TUC, Local Government Employers and the Forum of PrivateBusiness, helped to facilitate the production of new guidelines for employers and employees on work-related stress. A handy booklet summarising the legislation around stress at work and offering sources of further information and help can be found under related documents. 


TUPE - Revised Regulations
Guidance on the revised TUPE Regulations is published by the DTI in a document entitled “A Guide to the 2006 TUPE Regulations for employees, employers and representatives",  (192kb).  This guidance came into force on 6 April 2006.
 

In February 2006, the DTI published a response document summarising the outcome of the 2005 consultation on draft TUPE Regulations. The revised Regulations were laid before Parliament on 7 February, and the DTI has published an RIA on those new Regulations. A copy of the revised Regulations is available on the OPSI website.