Provisions affecting the following areas came into effect on 6th April 2008:

·        Company secretaries

·        Execution of documents

·        Accounts

·        Share transfers

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The Legislative Reform (Health and Safety Executive) Order 2008 came into force on 1 April 2008. It created a merger of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to form a single national regulatory body responsible for promoting better health and safety at work called the Health and Safety Executive.

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Business owners are risking substantial problems for their business partners and family by failing to make a will.

Serious complications can arise in a business if succession planning for director shareholders does not include a well thought out will. Why? A well drafted will can limit the potential for claims against the deceased’s estate. This, of course, includes claims made against the deceased’s share in a business. If there is no will, your business could suffer serious damage.

Businesses need to ensure their directors have wills and that these meld with articles of association, and, or shareholder agreements. Further, many businesses are family run with the intention that the business should pass to another family member working in the firm. Often a child working with a parent in the family business will have an expectation that the business will come to them. Where this is not covered by a will, or if the articles of the business allow for another shareholder to buy the deceased’s shares, disputes could easily occur. The child working in the business may be expected to purchase their siblings interest even if the other siblings have never worked in the business or contributed to its success.

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Agreement has now finally been reached by the EU Employment and Social Affairs Council on the working time opt-out and definitions of on-call time, as well as new proposals to extend employment protection to temporary agency workers. All that is required now is approval from the European Parliament.

The choice to opt out of the maximum 48 hour week remains. Changes agreed were as follows:

• On-call time will be split into “active” (working time) and “inactive” on-call time (neither working time nor rest time!) Active on-call time will be counted as working time; Member States can choose whether or not inactive on-call time counts as working time. However, inactive on-call time may not be counted as rest time.
• There will be a new limit of 60 hours per week for those who do opt out, unless the social partners agree otherwise (65 hours per week for workers who opt-out if inactive on-call time is counted as working time).
• Read the complete blog »  
  
  

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The government is proposing that once they have completed 6 months employment, employees should have the right to request time off work for training.  The plans closely mirror existing rights to request flexible working. 

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The Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills has published a draft Apprenticeships bill. The bill includes the power to prescribe model apprenticeship agreements and, most interestingly, specifically states that such an apprenticeship agreement would be a contract of service, not a contract of apprenticeship. This is an important distinction, as those employed on a contract of apprenticeship have greater rights.

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Agency workers on short fixed term contracts will have same rights as other employees as of October 2008.

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The new ACAS draft “Guidance Document” simplifies the process of grievance and discipline. Instead of setting out a statutory step by step procedure, it merely makes suggestions for both sides to reach settlement. Failure to follow the Code will not, in itself, make a person or organisation liable to proceedings and it will not result in the automatic unfair dismissal which can and does follow if an employer fails to abide by the current rules.  Instead, under the new rules, tribunals will be given a discretionary power to increase awards of compensation to employees by up to 25% if an employer unreasonably fails to comply with the Code.  The approach now is to trust employment tribunals to come to fair decisions rather than to try and legislate for every eventuality.

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New guidance on whistleblowing has been issued by the British Standards Association and ‘Pubic Concern at Work’- the whistleblowing charity. 2008 marks the tenth anniversary of the Public Interest Disclosure Act. Here is the effect:

The PAS (Publicly Available Specification) explains why whistleblowing is now seen across private and public sectors as an essential element of risk management.  We now explain how it can be used as a key tool in tackling fraud and crime in your business. 

While the Public Interest Disclosure Act sets an international benchmark for reporting mischievous colleagues, only 40% of employees in UK businesses feel comfortable reporting misconduct say Public Concern at Work.

By implementing a sound whistleblowing policy in your workplace, you can iron out creases that you previously were unaware of.

Mike Low, Director of the BSI,

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