Legal news
Key Employment Law Changes from 2011 - 4th January 2012
Key Developments in 2011
Agency Worker Regulations 2010
Agency Worker Regulations 2010 came into force on 1st October 2011 and gave greater rights to agency workers. After 12 weeks of working in the same role, an agency worker is now entitled to the same basic working and employment conditions as the employer’s permanent employees. The 12 week period shall begin to count from the workers first day in the role. In addition, from the start of an assignment, agency workers are now also entitled to equal access for on-site facilities and to information on permanent employment vacancies. Pregnant and breast-feeding mothers also have increased rights.
Default retirement age
The default retirement age of 65 was abolished on 6th April 2011. Any dismissal because of age taking place on or after 6th April 2011 will constitute direct age discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, unless it falls within the transitional provisions.
Employers therefore have 2 options for dealing with retirement age: abandon fixed retirement ages or retain a retirement age. If fixed retirement ages are retained, the employer will need to be able to justify the retirement age. Case law has indicated that legitimate reasons include: workforce planning, promoting the recruitment and retention of younger employees and ensuring high quality of service.
If the fixed retirement age is abandoned, the employer will still need to show, on a case by case basis, that it acted fairly when deciding to dismiss a particular employee and that such dismissals were not tainted with age discrimination.
For more information about Agency Workers Rights and Retirement Policies, please contact Claire Berry at cberry@pwhmllp.com
