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Are You Ready for Legislation Sunday?
If you are not prepared for the three big
pieces of legislation that come into force
on Sunday 1st October 2006 then
you need to take action now. Almost all
small business will be affected by at least
one of the changes, and most will be
affected by all three.
The three big pieces of legislation coming
into force are:
-
Fire Safety Regulations
Every business in non-domestic buildings
will be 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 will need to act before
October 1st.
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no longer valid, and that you instead need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
From October 1st it will be
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 will 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
On October 1st the minimum wage
for those aged 22 and over goes up from
£5.05 to £5.35 per hour, the rate for 18-21
year olds will go up from £4.25 to £4.45 per
hour, and the rate for 16-17 year olds will
go up from £3.00 to £3.30 per hour.
With three important pieces of legislation
all coming into force, you need to make sure
that you are prepared 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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