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 on the “youth development rate” of the National Minimum Wage will get an immediate increase that is likely to amount to nearly 23%.

From October 2010, National Minimum Wage rates will increase from:

£5.80 to £5.93 an hour for workers aged 21 and over
£4.83 to £4.92 an hour for workers aged 18 to 20
£3.57 to £3.64 an hour for workers aged 16 to 17

The rise is around the two per cent mark in each category.

In addition, a new apprentice minimum wage of £2.50 per hour will be applied. The new rate will apply to apprentices under 19 and apprentices aged 19 and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship.

If you require further clarification on the national minimum wage, or support in any other HR related area, please call us today on 0800 612 4772 or get a Free Quote for HR Services via our website.

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 1 October 2011 which means employers will not be able to issue any notifications for compulsory retirement using the DRA procedure. Between 6 April and 1 October, only people who were notified before 6 April, and whose retirement date is before 1 October can be compulsorily retired.

After 1 October, employers will not be able to use the DRA to compulsorily retire employees; if they wish to use retirement ages they will have to be able to demonstrate that these are objectively justified, for example in physically demanding jobs.

If you have polices in place forcing staff to retire at 65 then these will need to be reviewed. This is a service EmployEasily are happy to provide before the proposed changes take effect.

A consultation process is now in place until 29 October 2010, and as part of the consultation process a review on administration will take place.  There will no longer be a need for employees’ “right to request” to work beyond retirement or for employers to give them a minimum of six months’ notice of retirement.

We know this could cause some difficulties for employers as you might not be able to forward plan if you don’t know when an older worker is likely to retire. In some cases there you might have an example of an older employees who is not performing to a level they were previously and your worried out to approach this subject for fear of being taken to a tribunal.

Since Labour’s Employment Equality (Age) Regulations were introduced in 2006, employers have been allowed to force staff to retire at 65 without having to justify their decision. The DRA has been challenged by campaigners in the courts on several occasions, most notably Heyday and a number of groups will welcome this decision.

Whilst contracts of employment and up to date HR policies act as a point of reference in any dispute, they way in which Employers conduct disciplinary hearings is critical as getting things wrong could potentially end up resulting in employment tribunal claims.

Here’s a short checklist to help make sure Employers are properly prepared for a disciplinary hearing:

1. Introduce self as Chairperson of the meeting, and any others present. Give full names and job titles.

2. Confirm that this is a Disciplinary Hearing held under the company’s Disciplinary Procedures.

3. Explain to the employee the process to be followed, IE:

• They will be informed of the issue(s) concerned and will then have an opportunity to discuss their case in detail.

• Following this, the meeting will be adjourned and the Chairperson will decide on the most appropriate action – this will be confirmed to the employee in writing.

4. Ask the employee if they have any questions about the process to be followed at this stage.

5. If the employee is accompanied, check that they are either a work colleague or a full-time trade union representative who is certified as having received training in acting as a worker’s companion at such meetings.

6. Advise the employee of the issue(s) concerned and proceed with the meeting.

Remember, getting it wrong can create all sorts of problems for you in the future so if you want to make sure everything is done correctly and avoid the possibility of facing an employment tribunal claim get employment law advice first.

We offer a free, no obligation consultation and will give you the right advice to help you prevent problems and protect your business – call us today on 0800 612 4772 or Get a Free Quote via our website now.

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 after making a job offer (or after including the applicant in a pool of short-listed applicants).

The circumstances referred to above are:

• in relation to considering reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process;
• in establishing whether an applicant will be able to carry out a function that is
Intrinsic to the work concerned;
• in monitoring diversity;
• in relation to taking positive action (i.e. recruiting someone from an under-
represented group when an employer has the choice between two or more
candidates who are as ‘qualified’ as each other); and
• in relation to filling a position in respect of which having a particular disability or is a genuine occupational requirement.

Although asking an applicant pre-employment health questions will not in itself amount to discrimination against an applicant, acting on the answers could be construed as discriminatory. If an unsuccessful applicant brings a direct disability discrimination claim, and the employer asked a pre-employment health question for a non prescribed reason, it will be up to you as the employer to show that no discrimination took place.

It is advisable to remove any health related questions from your application forms, and should you have any concerns on any aspect of the Equality Act, please contact us on 0800 612 4772 or get a Free Quote for HR Services via our website

Remember, we offer services on a retained basis that help protect you from unwanted employment tribunal claims.

With a new Residential Care Home for Children opening soon in North Ayrshire, Aspire are looking to recruit a number of people across a variety of residential care roles.  Specifically, they are looking for:

1. Ref ASRHM: Residential House Manager 32k – 36k
2. Ref ASDRDM: Depute Residential House Manager 26k – 30k
3. Ref ASRTL: Residential Child Care Worker 22k – 26k
4. Ref ASRCCW: Residential Child Care Worker 16k – 22k
5. Ref ASCC: Cook/Cleaner 11k -13k
6. Ref ASEM: Education Manager 38k – 46k
7. Ref  ASTR: Teacher 21k – 27k

If you or someone you know is interested in joining a team with passion for its work then visit our  ‘Job Board‘ and complete our online form to request a formal application pack, quoting the appropriate reference number.

Closing Date for these vacancies is 31st July 2010.

When faced with staff challenges around areas such as performance, conduct and capability, informal discussions are often enough to resolve problems quickly but sometimes that’s not enough and the only recourse for Employers is to take formal disciplinary action.

However, with the repeal of the 3 stage disciplinary process and the introduction of the ACAS Code of Conduct, Employers are under even more pressure now to get things right.

Here’s some things to consider:

Do’s

• Allow adequate time for the hearing.

• Ensure the hearing takes place in a private room, where there will be no interruptions.

• Take a colleague in.

• Check that the employee is aware of their right to be accompanied, and if they are accompanied, check that the person is a colleague or TU rep.

• Stress that a disciplinary should be seen in a positive way, in order to help an individual improve areas of concern.

• Listen carefully.

• Be objective.

• Ask open questions.

• Stay calm.

• Take notes. (Template available from EmployEasily HR)

• Adjourn to consider information provided by employee.

• Confirm your decision in writing (via EmployEasily HR), regardless of the outcome.

Don’ts

• Go into the hearing with your mind already made up.

• Jump to conclusions.

• Give any decision during the hearing.

Following a fair and reasonable procedure can help you avoid the negative effects of a tribunal claim.

Are you facing staff issues such as poor performance, staff absence or staff conduct but are concerned about how best to address them without ending up facing a costly employment tribunal claim?

Does your business have in place the basic HR policies and processes that will allow you to address staff issues without automatically facing unfair dismissal claims?

Not sure, why not seek professional employment law advice from EmployEasily HR Services?

We offer a free, no obligation consultation and will give you the right advice to help you prevent problems and protect your business - call us today on 0800 612 4772 or Get a Free Quote via our website now.

• 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 of single claims accepted by Employment Tribunals.
• There was a 17% increase in the number of tribunal claims associated with unfair dismissal, breach of contract and redundancy. This is likely to be caused by the economic recession.
• There was a 22% increase in the number of disposals by Employment Tribunals. This did not keep pace with receipts with the result that more than 400,000 claims remained outstanding.
• There was a significant drop in the number of Employment Tribunal claims in which the first hearing took place within 26 weeks of the claim being received. It fell from 74% to just 65%.

Can you afford for your business to be involved in one of the 400,000 claims that remain outstanding? The cost to your business could be damaging – not forgetting the time you would need to spend in preparation and the hearing itself, which could last several days.

We provide a range of tailored HR solutions to organisations of all sizes, giving you:

• significant cost savings and ROI
• operational efficiency
• indemnity from costly employment tribunals
• world-class service at affordable prices

Many of our Clients chose EmployEasily HR to protect their business from costly employment tribunals and ensure they were compliant with complex UK employment laws but increasingly, more and more are turning to EmployEasily HR as a way of reducing costs by removing the burden of time consuming HR administration.

At EmployEasily HR we recognise that in order to retain a competitive edge you need an effective team. As HR specialists in providing HR Support to a broad range of businesses, EmployEasily HR understand fully the day to day staffing challenges in running an efficient operation and what impact staff issues can have on running your business AND on your ability to deliver excellent customer service to you Clients, both internal and external.

We can assist you in every aspect of Human Resource management so that you can benefit from a motivated, happy and productive workforce and can provide your business with comprehensive employment tribunal indemnity protection of up to £1 million per year giving you complete peace of mind and the opportunity to better focus on your core business by helping you to reclaim precious time previously spent dealing with staff issues.

Why is effective HR Support important?

When dealing with an HR issue, failure to comply with Employment Legislation and HR best practice, even unintentionally, can leave your business vulnerable to costly Employment Tribunal Claims. We support a broad range of Clients across Scotland and consistently help them manage one of the most complex areas for any business to get to grips with – UK Employment Law in a way that ensure they are protected from costly employment tribunal claims.

For complete peace of mind, and a unique personal service, contact us on 0800 612 4772 or get a Free Quote for HR Services via our website. Remember, you want to avoid employment tribunal claims and focus on running your business.

As a result, Government Ministers are today meeting with Union officials to discuss their proposed changes to redundancy terms for civil servants which could see them being brought in line with those fo the private sector.

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that ministers intend to press on with reform of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) and clearly changes to the redundancy terms for civil servants is a major part fo this.

Should public sector redundancy terms be aligned with the private sector?  With such a huge budget deficit to contend with, are the Government right to target the public sector and look to reform the CSCS in such a radical way?  Tell us what you think and share your comments with us  using the form below.