Happy New Year. With Blue Monday now behind us, we look ahead in this blog
to the legislative changes due to come into force during 2014.
January
The changes to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of
Employment) Regulations 2006 are due to come into force on 31 January.
April
The right to request flexible working will be
extended on 6 April to all employees with 26 weeks’ service.
Employees who wish to lodge an employment tribunal
claim after 6 April will have to first undergo a period of ACAS conciliation.
Employers who are unsuccessful at tribunal after 6
April may find that they have to pay financial penalties in addition any
tribunal award. The penalty will be
between £100 and £5,000.
The questionnaire procedure that can be used by a
claimant to gather information from their employer to prepare their
discrimination claim is to be removed.
October
The employment tribunals
will gain the power to order an employer who is found to have breached the
equal pay legislation to carry out an equal pay audit.
We will look at these changes in more detail in the coming weeks.
Petra Venton