Employment law changes from April 2012
As you will know from our previous articles, the time for which an employee needs to be employed in order to bring a claim of unfair dismissal increased to two years for employees who started with their employer on or after 6 April 2012.
The increase in the qualification period was not the only change. Employees who started after 6 April 2012 will now need two years’ service in order to be entitled to be given written reasons for their dismissal, except when the reason was pregnancy related.
Other changes include changes to the Employment Tribunal process, most notably employment judges sitting alone in most unfair dismissal cases, and witness statements being taken as read rather than being read out to the Tribunal by the witness.
Away from the dismissal and Tribunal arena, the rate for Statutory Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay increased from £128.73 per week to £135.45 per week, and the rate for Statutory Sick Pay from £81.60 to £85.85 per week.
The law on apprentices changed this month too – if you use apprentices in your business then have a look at our article here.
If you would like to talk through a situation you are dealing with, or if you need advice on any aspect of employment law, please contact any member of the Pure Employment Law team 01243 836840 or [email protected].