16 February 2007
Although age discrimination legislation stole the headlines in 2006, retailers need to brace themselves for the next round of new employment regulations for 2007, or run the risk of costly claims, according to experts at international law firm Eversheds.
In a bid to help retailers prepare for the onslaught of further regulation, the firm has identified the seven most significant employment law developments to prepare for in 2007.
Among the employment law legislation coming into force in the next twelve months are new rules to ban smoking in the workplace, flexible working rights for carers and the long-awaited corporate manslaughter laws.
Audrey Williams, partner at Eversheds, comments:
"Many retailers will still be getting to grips with the recently implemented age discrimination laws. However, there are some significant pieces of regulation due to come into force very soon and businesses need to plan ahead and ensure they are up to speed on the regulation timetable."
The Significant Seven
Eversheds' guide to law developments affecting retailers in 2007
1.Flexible Working Rights for Carers
From 6th April this year, the right to request flexible working will be extended to carers of near relatives. At the end of 2006, the definition of 'near relative' was explained and includes: parents, parents-in-law, adult child, adopted adult child, siblings (including in-laws), aunts, grandparents and step-relatives.
2.Smoking Ban
The ban on smoking in the workplace comes into force across the UK by summer 2007. It is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that no-smoking signs are visible in the workplace and that these, and the penalties for smoking in non-smoking area, are communicated to employees both verbally and in writing. The onus is on employers to implement the smoking ban in their workplaces and that includes communicating and enforcing the ban to customers. Failure to do so could not only result in a criminal prosecution, but will also make the organisation more vulnerable to claims from employees or visitors that they have been injured through exposure to smoke.
3.Companies Act 2006
This legislation will come into force between January 2007 and October 2008. One of the main employment-law related aspects of the regulations is the move to set out directors' duties by law. Directors' behaviour will be largely unchanged, but there are specific new rules governing directors whose personal interests conflict with their company's. This could particularly affect those with multiple business interests or directorships. Training for directors in relation to these changes should definitely be on the agenda.
4. Corporate Manslaughter
There is no fixed date, but the corporate manslaughter legislation is due to come into effect in 2007. This will mean an organisation, or a senior individual within the organisation can be prosecuted for management failures that lead to the deaths of employees and others. However, if senior management has been proven to have grossly failed to care for the safety of employees, there is a risk of an unlimited fine and possibly a prison sentence. Best practice employers will be checking their existing policies to ensure that duty of care obligations are met and that attitudes, policies, systems or accepted practices of the organisation don't encourage a breach of this responsibility.
5.Increases to paternity leave
We expect to see further detail on the proposals to increase paternity leave for working fathers. Currently fathers can take two weeks' paid leave within eight weeks of the birth or adoption of a child. The proposals in the Work and Families Act introduce a new right to paternity leave of up to 26 weeks to be taken by the child's first birthday.
The Government is due to feed back on a recent consultation and the detail of the proposed changes is still far from definite, so businesses are advised to ensure they are aware of the key developments of this legislation.
6.Heyday Case
In December 2006 a High Court judge agreed to refer Age Concern's challenge to the way in which the age discrimination laws have been implemented in the UK to the European Court of Justice. A European ruling on this issue will take some time and could take until well into 2007 or even 2008. If the European Court agrees with Age Concern's challenges then the government will have to amend parts of the legislation.
7.Bank Holiday Bonanza
Currently, up to two million workers in the UK have to take their Bank Holidays as part of their statutory entitlement to four weeks' annual leave but the new measures, announced by the Government last year, will add the eight bank holidays to the four week entitlement for all workers.
The government is proposing that statutory annual leave entitlement would be increased in two stages, rising from 20 to 24 days on 1st October 2007, and from 24 to 28 days on 1st October 2008. However, there will be a further consultation on this in the early part of 2007.
Source: The Retail Bulletin