National Minimum Wage Changes 1 October 2010

Do you comply with the changes to the national minimum wage which comes into force on 1 October 2010? The adult rate of the national minimum wage will apply to workers of 21 years and over from 1 October 2010 rather than 22 at present. Those who have turned 21 prior to 1 October and [...]

Default Retirement Age to be scrapped

The Government has announced that the default retirement age (DRA) will be scrapped on 1 October 2011. At the moment, employers can force staff to retire at the age of 65 regardless of their circumstances but this will not be permitted under the new plans. There is a transition period between 6 April 2011 to [...]

Disciplinary Hearing Checklist

Taking disciplinary action is often the only remedy available to employers facing staff issues like poor performance, persistent absenteeism and/or inappropriate conduct, so odds are if you haven’t already been involved in this you will be at some point. Whilst contracts of employment and up to date HR policies act as a point of reference [...]

Equality Act and pre-employment health questionnaires

Is your business aware of the Equality Act and the impact this will have on you, specifically when recruiting new staff? You will not be able to ask job applicants questions about their health and whether they have a disability other than in specified circumstances. Employers will still be entitled to screen applicants about health [...]

Jobs Available in West of Scotland

Aspire Scotland Ltd is a care and education provider who works with some of Scotland’s most vulnerable and challenging children and young people. Their aim is to assist in the development of strong and confident individuals and work with families and communities to ensure that they have the sufficient resilience to support these young people. [...]

Help with Disciplinary Issues at Work

UK employment laws are extremely complex and can often be a minefield for Employers.  Many businesses think they’re doing things right but end up facing employment tribunal claims because they’ve gotten something wrong. When faced with staff challenges around areas such as performance, conduct and capability, informal discussions are often enough to resolve problems quickly [...]

Employment Tribunal Statistics 2009/10

The Tribunal Annual Statistics were published last week, and they make for interesting reading. The key findings are:- • 56% increase from 2008/09 in the number of claims accepted by Employment Tribunals, which were at their highest ever level. This is mainly attributable to multiple claims. • There was a 14% increase in the number [...]

Changes to Public Sector Redundancy Terms

In June the government lost a court battle over attempts, started by Labour, to cut redundancy payments but Unions fear emergency legislation could be brought in to reverse the ruling and are warning that strikes could be an “inevitability”. As a result, Government Ministers are today meeting with Union officials to discuss their proposed changes [...]