Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Employment lawPaternityEqual payMinimum wageReservists

Four employment law changes in October 2014

by Jeya Thiruchelvam 22 Sep 2014
by Jeya Thiruchelvam 22 Sep 2014

There has been a raft of employment law changes for HR to get to grips with already this year, including the extension of the right to request flexible working and the introduction of early conciliation by Acas.

While employers across the country may be busy preparing for the introduction of shared parental leave in April 2015, it is important not to overlook the employment law changes that are just around the corner. Jeya Thiruchelvam rounds up four October legal changes and provides links to useful resources on XpertHR.

1. Antenatal rights for fathers and partners to take time off work

Fathers and partners will be entitled to time off to accompany a pregnant woman to an antenatal appointment on up to two occasions. Employees will be eligible to take advantage of the new right straight away without accruing a minimum period of service.

Although the right extends to agency workers, a minimum service requirement applies to trigger eligibility in this context.

Letter responding to an individual who has requested time off to accompany a pregnant woman at an antenatal appointment

How much time can a father or partner take off to accompany the pregnant woman?

Letter explaining the right for staff to request time off to accompany a pregnant woman at an antenatal appointment

2. Employment tribunals must order equal pay audits

Where an equal pay claim is submitted on or after 1 October 2010, and the employment tribunal finds that there has been an equal pay breach, it must order the employer to carry out an equal pay audit unless an exception applies.

The exceptions set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014 relate to, among other things, whether or not the employer has recently carried out an audit that meets certain requirements, and whether or not the benefits delivered by the audit would exceed the disadvantages of conducting it.

When will a tribunal order an employer to carry out an equal pay audit?

3. National minimum wage increases

The national minimum wage increases from £6.31 to £6.50 with effect from 1 October 2014. The youth rate increases from £5.03 to £5.13 per hour.

National minimum wage rises to £6.50 per hour

4. Reservists better protected against unfair dismissal

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

With effect from 1 October 2014, where an employee is dismissed exclusively (or mainly) because he or she is a member of reserve force, the normal two-year service requirement for bringing an unfair dismissal claim does not apply, and an employee may pursue a claim immediately in these circumstances.

Model policy on employing reservists

Jeya Thiruchelvam

I joined the Brightmine editorial team after a six-year spell in private practice as an employment solicitor. I graduated from Cardiff University in law and politics and decided to qualify into employment law because it is people-focused with a political dimension.

previous post
Unison given go-ahead for new judicial review into employment tribunal fees
next post
Tribunal watch: Former Big Fat Gypsy Wedding dress designer wins £8,000 for unfair dismissal

1 comment

Claire 9 Oct 2014 - 9:01 am

In section 2, should the line ‘where an equal pay claim is submitted on or after 1 October 2010’ be changed to ‘where an equal pay claim is submitted on or after 1 October 2014’?

Comments are closed.

You may also like

Minister defends Employment Rights Bill at Acas conference

16 May 2025

Next to improve wage-setting transparency after shareholder pressure

16 May 2025

CBI chair Soames accuses ministers of not listening...

16 May 2025

EHRC bows to pressure and extends gender consultation

15 May 2025

Contract cleaner loses EAT race discrimination appeal

14 May 2025

Construction workers win compensation claim against defunct employer

9 May 2025

Zero-hours workers’ rights to be extended from beyond...

8 May 2025

Employment tribunal backlog up 23% in a year

7 May 2025

Ministers urged to outlaw misuse of NDAs

7 May 2025

Top 10 HR questions April 2025: increases to...

2 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+