Employment Law Update - October 2011
Abolition of the default retirement age – October 2011
Transitional arrangements for the removal of the default retirement age in the UK have been in force since 6 April, and since then employers have been prevented from issuing new notifications of retirement using the default retirement age. This means that if an employer wishes to operate a compulsory retirement age, it will need to objectively justify it. Retirements that were already in motion prior to this date can continue through to completion if the employee reaches the age of 65 (or the employer's normal retirement age if that is higher) on or before 30 September. This means that no employee who turned 65 on or after 1 October can be retired under the default retirement age.
Agency Workers Regulations – October 2011
Agency workers will be entitled to be treated equally to employers' directly recruited employees on basic employment conditions, such as pay and holidays, after they have worked in a role for 12 weeks, under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010.
In addition, from the first day of their assignments, agency workers will be entitled to the same access to job vacancies and collective facilities as permanent members of staff, such as staff canteens, childcare facilities and transport services.
All information is general and further information should be sought through HR Practical Solutions Ltd or an Employment Law practitioner.
