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Are You Ready for Legislation Sunday?
If you were not prepared for the three big
pieces of legislation that came into force
on Sunday 1st October then you
need to take action now. Almost all small
business are affected by at least one of the
changes, and most are affected by all three.
The three big pieces of legislation that are
now in force are:
-
Fire Safety Regulations
Every business in non-domestic buildings is
affected by the new fire safety rules. If
you are responsible for business premises,
an employer, a charity or a contractor with
some control over a business premises you
need to act now.
The changes mean that fire certificates are
no longer valid, and that you instead need
to carry out a complete risk assessment of
your premises. The assessment needs to take
account of possible fire hazards, dangerous
or flammable substances in the premises, as
well as the hazards for those at special
risk (E.g.: Disabled and elderly customers).
Once the assessment is complete you need to
use it to decide what precautions you can
take to remove or minimize the risks.
-
Age Discrimination (Employment)
Legislation
Since
October 1st it has been illegal
to have compulsory retirement for anyone
under the age of 65; and all employers must
properly consider requests to work beyond
that age.
Recruitment practices need to lose any
age-related practices; so that the age of an
applicant will not help or prevent them
getting a job. This means that recruitment
advertising needs to avoid targeting
particular age groups; asking for “fresh and
energetic” candidate could be seen as
discriminating against older workers, while
asking for a particular number of year’s
worth of experience could be seen as
discriminating against younger workers.
Promotion activities must also stop being
age influenced.
-
National Minimum Wage Increases
From
October 1st the minimum wage for
those aged 22 and over has been £5.35 per
hour (up from £5.05), the rate for 18-21
year olds is £4.45 per hour (up from £4.25),
and the rate for 16-17 year olds is £3.30
per hour (up from £3.00).
With three important pieces of legislation
all now into force, you need to make sure
that you are dealing for the changes;
otherwise you could be left with fines or
even worse.
For more information on Employment Laws
visit our Employment and Personal
Development portal.
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