Employment - July 2007
This month’s edition includes articles on a potentially
significant challenge under the October 2006 Age Discrimination
Legislation, an update regarding the implementation of increased
statutory annual leave, the latest consultation on the Government’s
proposals for a single equality bill, and a review of the ongoing
problem of violence against front-line staff.
Age discrimination
Is compulsory retirement at 65 or over
unlawful? Paul McFarlane reviews the Employment Appeal
Tribunal’s recent decision in Lloyd Briden v Worthing
College and considers what, if any, are its wider
implications.
Increased holiday entitlement to be postponed until 2009
In its 2005 election manifesto, the Government
pledged to give workers the right to four weeks' paid annual leave
in addition to public holidays.
It was initially proposed that the increase would be implemented in
two stages, on 1 October 2007 and on 1 October 2008. Tracy Hill explains how, following a recent
consultation on its proposals, the Government has now indicated its
intention to delay the second stage of the increase until 1 April
2009.
Consultation on the Government’s proposals for a Single
Equality Bill
On 12 June 2007, the Government published a
consultation paper on its proposals for a Single Equality Bill for
Great Britain. Jamie Campbell reviews the next steps for this
paper which sets out the Government’s proposed strategy for
consolidating all of the existing discrimination and equality laws
into a single Act of Parliament.
Violence against front-line staff
New legislation has been introduced to deal
with the increasing level of anti-social behaviour against
emergency workers. Noel Walsh, Head of Weightmans Workplace Safety,
reviews violence against front-line staff and the duty
on employers generally to provide a safe place of work for
employees.
Legislation Pipeline
Weightmans maintains a regularly updated schedule of forthcoming
employment-related legislation. A copy can be accessed at any time
by contacting Paul McFarlane: paul.mcfarlane@weightmans.com.
This update does not attempt to provide a full analysis of those
matters with which it deals and is provided for general information
purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice and
should not be treated as a substitute for legal advice. Weightmans
LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise from
reliance on the information in this update. The copyright in this
update is owned by Weightmans.