current news

Legal representation at disciplinary hearings

Recent case law has suggested that in some circumstances, an employee is entitled to be accompanied by a legally qualified representative at disciplinary hearings under Article 6 European Convention of Human Rights (the right to a fair hearing).

Currently, this right is only available to those working in the public sector; and will only apply in cases where charges are of such gravity that the employee might be unable to work in their chosen profession in the future if the charges are proved.

Right to request time off for training

The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 will introduce a new right for employees to request time off work for training. The right comes into force from 6 April 2010 for employees working for companies with 250 or more employees and from 6 April 2011 for all employees irrespective of the size of the company they work for. Most employees with more than 26 weeks service will be able to request time off for study or training to improve their effectiveness at work and the performance of their employer’s business. The process for making such a request is similar to the process for making a request to work flexibly in that employees can only make one request every 12 months and employers can refuse the request for specified business reasons.

Fit note

The Government plans to introduce a new ‘fit note’ to replace sick notes from Spring 2010. Doctors will now categorise individuals as either: (1) fit for work (2) not fit for work or (3) “may be fit for some work now”. If a doctor uses description (3), the doctor must give details about the functional effect of the individual’s condition and can also suggest appropriate arrangements to help the individual return to work (for example phased return, altered hours, amended duties and workplace adaptations).

Changes to the maximum compensatory award in unfair dismissal cases

As a result of changes in the retail prices index, the statutory cap for the compensatory award in unfair dismissal cases will decrease from £66,200 to £65,300 for dismissals on or after 1 February 2010. The statutory cap does not apply to unfair dismissal cases involving whistleblowing or discrimination.

The limit on a week’s pay will remain at £380.00 until February 2011.

National minimum wage

As of 1st October 2009, the national minimum wage increased from:

• £5.73 to £5.80 for workers aged over 22

• £4.77 to £4.83 for workers aged between 18-21 and those aged 22 and over doing accredited training in the first six months of employment

• £3.53 to £3.57 for workers aged between 16-17

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“After attending Sherrards’ Mock Tribunal Workshop, I arranged for the same course to be run in-house for our managers. All those who attended felt it was extremely worthwhile and would now feel much more confident if they had to face a Tribunal.”