1 February 2010
Unfair Dismissal compensatory award
The maximum compensatory award for an employee who has been unfairly dismissed has been cut by £900 to £65,300, following a drop in the retail prices index.
The change was implemented on 1 February and will apply to all cases where employment was terminated on or after this date
April 2010
Paternity Leave and pay is extended
Fathers will be able to take up to 26 weeks’ paternity leave if the mother of the child returns to work before the end of her maternity leave entitlement, during the second six months of the child’s life. Leave may be paid if taken during the mother’s Statutory Maternity Pay period. The legislation comes into force in April 2010, effective for parents of babies due from 3 April 2011.
Right to request time off for training is introduced
A right to request time off to undertake training will be introduced in April for employers with 250 or more staff.
This right will be modelled on the right to request flexible working and will force employers to seriously consider any requests that they receive. Firms that fail to comply with the legal procedure face paying up to eight weeks’ salary as compensation.
The legislation will be extended to cover all employers from April 2011.
Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Amendment Regulations 2010 come into force
The regulations replace the current sick-note approach with a ‘fit note’ system. They change the format of the medical statement to allow doctors to record whether a patient is fit or not fit for work, or an option to indicate where someone ‘may be fit for some work now’.