Legislation coming into force from 1 October...

Government regulations dictate that changes to legislation that affects business can only be implemented on the 1st October or 6th April. In case you hadn't been keeping an eye on your calendar, it's that time again...

Important changes in employment legislation taking effect from 1 October 2009 will be:

• National Minimum Wage
  Increases in the hourly rates of the National Minimum Wage will see the Standard (adult) rate rise to £5.80 (from £5.73); the Development rate rise to £4.83 (from £4.77); the Young workers rate rise to £3.57 (from £3.53) and the Accommodation offset rate rise to £4.51 (from £4.46).
  
• Tips
  From 1 October, employers will be prohibited from counting service charges, tips and gratuities processed through their payrolls towards the payment of the National Minimum Wage.
  
• Maximum limit of a week's pay
  The maximum limit of a "week's pay" will be increased from £350 to £380 - and will stay at this amount until February 2011. This increase will affect all compensation payments to which the week's pay limit is relevant (for example, calculating statutory redundancy payments and basic awards in cases of unfair dismissal).

And last, but certainly not least...

• The House of Lords Supreme Court Rules 2009
  With barely a whimper, from 1 October 2009 the House of Lords will be replaced by the Supreme Court as the highest appeal court. The Supreme Court Rules 2009, which will govern the practice and procedure of the Supreme Court, will also come into force. The Rules will apply to appeals which were proceeding, and petitions for leave which were lodged, in the House of Lords before 1st October 2009.

Heyday decision: employers can force employees to retire at 65

The High Court has just handed down its decision in the Heyday appeal, with the upshot that it is legal for UK law to allow employers to force employees to retire at 65.

The BBC report on the story here - expect to hear a lot more in the days to follow...

Farewell Stratford Employment Tribunal

Well, it's the end of an era - from today, Stratford Employment Tribunal is no more. It's moving to (what we hope will be) plush new facilities in the Docklands area of east London.

The East London Tribunal Service's new address will be: 2nd Floor Anchorage House 2 Clove Crescent East India Dock London E14 2BE. But it just won't seem the same...

More here.

E-mail and Internet misuse at work...

A number of stories have been appearing in the press recently which have caught our eye. In this month alone, it's been reported that

• Portsmouth City Council has blocked access to Facebook after it found that its staff spent up to 572 hours a month on the social networking site (we're presuming collectively and not individually);
• Staff from PC World and Currys.digital, perhaps unwisely, have been busy flooding a Facebook Group with messages labelling their customers “stupid”; and
• A memory stick infected with a virus wrecked Ealing Council’s IT system, leaving it with a bill for £½ million in emergency IT work and lost revenue. Ouch.

The common denominator - misuse of IT. The potential liabilities to employers are enormous - lost productivity, lost income, repair bills, legal action for harassment and defamation... it's enough to make your toes curl into Turkish slippers. An IT policy can help prevent problems arising in the first place by making it clear what employees can and can't do and the potential consequences for transgression. And if things do go wrong, it can help defend claims when they do arise. So, if your workplace relies on computer systems and hasn't devised and implemented an IT policy governing their use, why not...?