california employment law overtime

2006 saw the employers to tackle age discrimination and the new TUPE regime. Here we take a look at what is in store for 2007.

Work and Families

In July last year, we have our work and families act 2006, if the detailed regulations still in draft stage. We now have the final version of the regulations. The main amendments to the Act are as follows.

The new rules apply to employees whose children are to be born or for adoption on or after 1 April 2007.

Extension of maternity leave

Under the new Regulations all pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks leave if their children were born.

Deadline for return from maternity leave

Employees who so wish to return to work before the end of their statutory maternity leave will be obliged to their employer 8 weeks notice.

Statutory Maternity Pay Period

Statutory maternity pay period is 39 weeks from April 2007 - 6 weeks at 90% of salary and 33 weeks in the package (£ 108.85). The government has announced that it intends to pay-period to one year until the end of this Parliament (2009/10).

Keeping you change date

The rules allow an employee on maternity leave to agree with their employer to work for up to 10 days during their leave, without the leave to an end. This is for workers to attend training or business skills or to update without their maternity leave.

Reasonable Contact

Under the regulations, employers are entitled to "reasonable contact" with employees during maternity leave.

Flexible working time models

The law stipulates that, at present the parents with 26 weeks' service, the children below six years (or under 18 if the child has a disability) are entitled to flexibility at work. The Act extends this right to the care of adults from April 6, 2007. The minimum service requirement (26 weeks) will remain the same.

An employee is entitled to make a request to work flexibly, if he or she is responsible for the care or supervision expected for an adult to whom they are married or their partner (living together) or civil partner or to a 'close relative' or an adult who lives at the same address as they do. "Near relative" means that the employee's parents, parents-in-law, adult child, adopted adult child, siblings (including in-laws), uncles, aunts, grandparents or relatives step.

There is no current proposal to extend this right to parents of children aged 6 to 17 who are not with a disability.

Smoke-free workplaces

Under the new rules, virtually all enclosed and substantially enclosed workplaces must be smoke free from 1 July 2007 (there are a few very limited number of exceptions). This includes company cars and other vehicles. Designated "rooms" will no longer be allowed.

Employers will be fines if they are the workers in their workplace to smoke when they are not sufficient to non-smoking "sign. Failure to a non-smoking signs will be in a fine of up to € 1000 or a fixed penalty notice of £ 200. Not to prevent smoking in what should be a smoke-free will arise, a fine of up to € 2,500.

Information and consultation

From 1 April 2007 informing and consulting employees Regulations 2004, the requirement to make available a formal information and consultation procedure for all companies employing at least 100 employees.

New prices of compensation

Any employee who is unfairly dismissed on or after 1 February 2007 is entitled to a maximum compensation of £ 60,600. The share of statutory redundancy pay is £ 310 per week (from the current level of £ 290 per week). The new maximum amount of statutory severance pay is £ 9300th

New rates of statutory pay

From 1 April 2007, the standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and statutory adoption pay is £ 112.75 per week.

The weekly of Statutory sick pay will be on 5 April 2007 to £ 72.55 (The current rate is £ 70.05).

Labor law attorneys at Cripps Harries Hall LLP have extensive experience in all areas of labor law and the pragmatic and commercial advice. The employment law team of 6 lawyers are aware, a broad spectrum of industries and structures consulting the needs of our customers within their respective companies.