Impending Employee/Employer leglislation changes - key dates for 2014/2015 - Forum

Useful table of Legal Updates from an HR Consultancy Company I subscribe to:

Proposed changes to employment law	Launch date
Flexible working The Government proposes to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees and remove the current statutory procedure for considering requests. Instead employers will have a duty to consider all requests in a reasonable manner; employers will have the right to refuse requests on business grounds.	30 June 2014
Duty to inform and consult under TUPE for micro business Employers who employ fewer than 10 employer will comply with the duty to inform and consult under the new TUPE regulations by informing and consulting directly with the affected employee.	31 July 2014
Managing sickness absence A health and work assessment and advisory service is to be introduced, offering free occupational health assistance for employees, employers and GPs. The service can provide an occupational health assessment after four weeks of sickness absence.	To be confirmed
Fathers right to time off for antenatal appointments The Children and families Act allows fathers to be and partners of pregnant women, to take time off to attend two antenatal appointments with the expectant mother.	1 October 2014
National Minimum Wage increase £6.50 for workers 21 and over £5.13 for workers 18-20 yrs £3.79 for 16-17 yrs olds £2.73 for apprentices under 19 or 19 and over who are in the first year of apprenticeship	1 October 2014
Flexible parental leave For parents of children born or matched for adoption on or after 5 April 2015. Under this new system parents will be able to choose how they share the care of their child during the first year after birth. Mothers will still take at least the initial two week following the birth, following that they can choose to end the maternity leave and the parents can opt to share the remaining leave as flexible parental leave. Also under this new shared parental leave it is proposed to allow the husband, civil partner or partner of the pregnant women the right to unpaid time off to attend up to 2 ante-natal appointments.	1 October 2014
Parental Leave extended to 18 The right to unpaid parental leave will be extended to parents of any child under the age of 18 years.	2015
Surrogate parents eligible for adoption leave Provided they meet the eligibility criteria parents who have a child through surrogacy will be permitted to take ordinary paternity leave and pay, adoption leave and pay and shared parental leave and pay. Both parents will also be entitled to take unpaid time off to attend two antenatal appointments with the woman carrying the child.	2015
School leaving age to rise to 18	2015