News In Focus
6 April 2009
Employment law changes in force from today
Major changes in employment law take place today as new disciplinary and grievance procedures take effect, and more parents acquire the right to request flexible working.
The statutory dispute resolution procedures introduced in 2004, which were supposed to reduce the number of claims being taken to employment tribunals but had the opposite effect because of their procedural requirements, are abolished, though they continue to apply in relation to certain actions taken before today.
In their place comes a simpler Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance from Acas, which sets out reasonable steps for an employer to follow, with tribunals being able to take it into account when considering relevant cases.
Click here to view the new code of practice.
Meanwhile all parents of children aged 16 and under now have the right to ask their employer for flexible working arrangements. Previously the right only applied to those with children up to age six. Where a child is disabled, the age limit remains at 18.
About 4.5 million parents are thought to qualify who did not before. Employers are bound to consider the request but are not obliged to grant it.
Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Eqality, said: "Children don't stop needing their parents' time when they reach their sixth birthday... Older cildren going through their teenage years need just as much support and guidance."