April 2010 Employment Law Changes – What all employers should be aware of

Here is our quick guide to the main changes in employment legislation from April 2010:

• Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay – this will rise from £123.06 to £124.88 a week from 4 April 2010.
  
  

• Fit notes – from 6 April 2010 the existing ‘sick notes’ will be replaced with ‘fit notes’. The focus will therefore be on what the individual can do, rather than what they cannot do. GPs will only be able to certify that an employee “may be fit for work” rather than “fit for work” so employers still need to carry out a risk assessment on the employee’s return. In addition, GPs will be able to suggest adjustments to an employee’s role and/or work place to enable them to return to work.
  
  

• Right to request time off for training – from 6 April 2010, employees have a legal right to request time off work to undertake study or training. Whilst it will only apply to businesses with more than 250 employees initially, it will be extended to all employers regardless of size from 6 April 2011. The right to make a request is modelled on the flexible working request procedure and although an employer can refuse a request, it must be on one or more grounds specified in the regulations. 
  
  

• Additional paternity leave – as of 6 April 2010, fathers will have the right to up to six months’ leave to care for a child (under the age of one/in the first year after being placed for adoption), if the child’s mother (or primary adopter) returns to work without exercising their full entitlement to maternity/adoption leave. This will apply to parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011, or adoptive parents who are notified of having been matched with a child on or after that date.

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