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Update 61 - Changes that impacted on your business in 2009.

In this update, we comment on a number of changes that impacted on your business in 2009, before commenting on recent legislation that has been passed by Parliament, which comes into force on 1 February 2010.

At the start of this year, in Update 35, we commented on the pace of change in the employment law sphere in 2008. It was our view that that the pace would not lessen in 2009. This view turned out to be correct.

Important updates that we have provided throughout 2009 include:

• Due to the impact of the recession, planning for redundancies – Update 37
• Increases in statutory redundancy pay/compensation limits – Update 38
• Increase in the statutory minimum holiday entitlement to 5.6 weeks from 1 April 2009 –  Update 44
• That in certain (albeit limited) circumstances, an employee may be entitled to legal representation at internal disciplinary hearings – Update 45
• Changes to the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures – Update 46
• The Budget – Update 48
• Clarification that employees on long term sick continue to accrue, and are entitled to take, paid annual leave – Update 52
• Increases in the number of unfair dismissal claims and redundancy claims before the Employment Tribunal – Update 54
• Employees who are sick, prior to or during, are/may be entitled to re-book their annual leave – Update 58

However, there is some good news in the form of the Employment Rights (Revision of Limits) Order 2009, which comes into force on 1 February 2010 which was passed by Parliament on 14 December 2009. The effect of this legislation is that the maximum compensatory award (for unfair dismissal cases) is reduced from £66,200 to £65,300. We think that you will agree that this is, in the context of a difficult year for many, an early Christmas present – truly a Christmas Cracker!