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22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.

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21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to...

21 Mar 2024

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8 Mar 2024

Daniel Blackham, editor of industry magazine BikeBiz, has been writing about his experience of completing the Cytech technical one qualification at training provider Spokes People in Milton...

6 Mar 2024

Cytech partner Activate Cycle Academy, the largest and most recognised training provider of bike maintenance and technical training courses to the UK’s cycle industry, recently welcomed a...

6 Mar 2024

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4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.

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Employment law changes come into force this October

Posted on in Business News , Political News

As an employer, it's vital you don't overlook the changes that are taking place in employment law.

There are four key changes to employment law this October that you need to be aware of.

1. Fathers and partners can take time off for antenatal appointments

Now, Fathers and partners can time off with a pregnant woman to their antenatal appointment - for two occasions. This new right can be taken straight away for any new employee, with the exception of agency workers, who need a minimum service requirement to be eligible.

2. Equal pay audits in Employment Tribunals

In any equal pay claim after 1 October 2010, where a tribunal finds an equal pay breach, the employer now has to carry out an ‘equal pay audit' - unless they are exempt.

The exemptions relate to whether the employer has recently carried out an audit that meets requirements, and whether the benefits of an audit outweigh the drawbacks. This is set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014

3. National minimum wage rise

The national minimum wage has increased. Now, adult minimum wage has rising from £6.31 to £6.50, and 18 - 20 year olds minimum wage increasing from £5.03 to £5.13 per.

4. Protection for reserve forces against unfair dismissal

If employees are dismissed mostly because they are members of the reserve forces, there will be no service requirement for claiming unfair dismissal claim and they can pursue it straight away.

More information

If you need advice on the latest changes in Employment Legislation or any aspect of employment law, ActSmart's partner DAS can help.

Our partnership with legal experts DAS means ActSmart subscribers can access 24 hour UK based helplines, covering the following subjects:

  • Commercial & Legal Advice
  • Human Resources
  • Health & Safety
  • Tax Advice
  • Assistance in the event of business emergency (fire, flood etc)
  • Confidential counselling for owners, their staff and immediate family members
  • The team at ActSmart head office are always available to offer common sense advice and support

24 hour unlimited access 

Unlike many other legal and business support helplines, ActSmart offer subscribers 24 hour, unlimited access to DAS business support. To access the helplines click on the button below.

Access helpline  

ActSmart subscribers can also take the headache out of employment issues by using the professionally produced and constantly updated Employment Manual provided through our partnership with DAS.

The online employment manual covers 3 key areas:

  1. Pre-Employment - covers the recruitment process so you can get the right people first time. Includes sample application forms and job description templates
  2. Employment - keep up to date with all the basics of employment law and employee rights
  3. Termination of Employment - covers issues such as disciplinary hearings, notice rights, fair/unfair dismissals and health issues

The Appendices provides templates of policy documents and forms which you can download and use in your own business.

Access the manual

What do our subscribers say? 

"I have used the DAS business support service and was extremely happy with the service they provided. They told me exactly what I needed to know, there and then, and were very friendly and helpful. This service is a great asset to us and comes in very useful! Thank you"

Tina Wickham, Velocity Bikes, Portsmouth, April 2012

 

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