This week’s news in brief
Tribunal control no longer under DTI
Employment tribunals should come under the control of the Lord Chancellors
department, a review has recommended. Currently the DTI has administrative
control of tribunals.
Review for armed forces personnel
A review by the armed forces could mean that unmarried partners of
personnel, including gay partners, receive the same rights as spouses including
living in Army accommodation and being eligible for pension benefits. The
review comes ahead of a European equal treatment directive which will make it
illegal to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation from 2003.
Employers pay out £5m minimum wage arrears
Employers have been forced to pay out nearly £5m in salary arrears to staff who
have received less than the National Minimum Wage since its introduction in
April 1999. The Government has improved its monitoring on this, recovering
£1.8m more than the previous year.
Tupe regulations put back until December
The new Tupe regulations due to be implemented in July will not now become
law until December at the earliest. Draft regulations, which will be subject to
a three-month consultation period, are cautiously expected this month,
according to Tupe expert and national head of employment at Pinsent Curtis Biddle,
John McMullen.
CBI hits out at new maternity rules
Employers group the CBI has expressed disappointment at new government rules
designed to reduce the burden of enhanced maternity rights on business. It has
increased the amount of notice working mothers must give of their intention to
return to work from three to four weeks. But firms need six weeks notice, the
CBI said.
