Issue 87 - February 2007

Increases in Tribunal Awards
As briefly mentioned in the December update, the annual increases in tribunal awards come into effect for claims arising on or after 1 February 2007. Amongst numerous other increased limits on awards, please note the following:

In addition, the Government has published in draft the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2007, which sets out the new rates of statutory benefits to apply from April 2007. These include the new rates of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay, as well as the new level of statutory sick pay. The annual uprating also covers such welfare payments as jobseeker's allowance, incapacity benefit and the state pension.

From April 2007:

• The standard rate of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay will rise from £108.85 to £112.75 per week
• The standard rate of statutory sick pay will rise from £70.05 to £72.25 per week

Yet more case-law on what constitutes a ‘grievance’….

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) have provided some guidance on what an employee needs to include in a grievance letter under the modified grievance procedure in the recent case of City of Bradford v Pratt. The modified procedure is where the employer and ex-employee agree to conduct the grievance in writing as opposed to having a face-to-face meeting to discuss the issues followed up in writing, as in the standard grievance procedure.

In this case, the ex-employee wrote to her employer complaining of unequal pay compared to male employees doing the same work. Although the letter would have complied with step one of the standard grievance procedure, as it set out the general nature of the complaint, it did not adequately set out the basis for the complaint that she subsequently brought because it did not give the employer enough information to respond meaningfully. The letter should have identified the male employee relied on as a comparator and described the type of payment which the employee alleged she had been denied.

Albeit reluctantly, the EAT decided that her tribunal claim was barred as she had not raised a valid grievance before lodging her claim.

This case highlights the higher onus which is on the employee if they agree to use the modified grievance procedure as opposed to the standard procedure, which does not seem to require the employee to do much at all to fall within the requirements of a step one letter.

Quickfire

Employing Bulgarian and Romanian workers

The Accession (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2006 have been published setting out the entitlement of nationals of Bulgaria and Romania to reside and work in the UK following the accession of those states to the EU on 1 January 2007. Unlike nationals of other EU member states, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals who wish to work in the UK will still need a work permit, unless they are covered by certain exemptions.

It will be an offence for a Bulgarian or Romanian national to work in the UK in breach of these Regulations and an offence for an employer to employ such a worker.

Rights for Carers

On 6 April 2007, those who care for adults (that is, those over the age of 18) will have a right to request flexible working (in the same way as parents of children under the age of six can currently request to work in a more flexible way). This new right is expected to help the increasing number of employees who currently work at the same time as trying to care for aging family members, for example.

Employers will need to ensure that their policies on flexible working are amended in readiness for this extension of the right for carers to request to work flexibly. With an aging workforce and skills shortages, the economic case for employers supporting their staff with adult care responsibilities is increasingly powerful.

Contact Details:

JOLYON BERRY t: 01473 406356
LOTTIE HAMMOND t: 01603 756419
MATTHEW NEWNHAM t: 01603 756412
SONYA O’REILLY t: 01603 756413

If you have any questions about this, or any other employment law related matter, please be in touch with any member of the team. Also, if you think that you should have received an invitation to our Early Bird seminar recently, but did not, please let us know.

Team News
We are delighted to welcome Lisa Hayward to our employment team. Lisa joins us from the London Borough of Harrow where she trained and qualified. We look forward to being able to introduce her to as many of you as possible over the coming months.

The content of this document is for general information only. As always, specific professional advice should be taken on each individual matter © Birketts Solicitors 2007. Birketts LLP is constituted as a limited liability partnership in accordance with the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000. Where we refer to a 'partner' of Birketts LLP, whether in this brochure or in any other correspondence or communication with you, the term 'partner' means a member of Birketts LLP, and shall not be construed as indicating that the members of Birketts LLP are carrying on business in partnership within the meaning of the Partnership Act 1890.

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