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Here is a summary of the many legislative changes that occur in October. Further information can be found at the relevant paragraphs listed below. Pre-employment Start of Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) – phased introduction See EM ¶619, ¶621 On 12 October 2009, the three current barring lists (information held under Section 142 of the Education Act 2002 (List 99), the Protection Of Children Act (POCA) list, and the Protection Of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) list) will be replaced by a new Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS). This scheme has two barred lists, one for those who are barred from engaging in regulated activity with children, and one for those barred from engaging in regulated activity with vulnerable adults. The introduction of barring from ‘regulated activities’ will mean that those included on the new barred lists will be barred from a wider range of jobs and activities than previously, particularly in areas of work with vulnerable adults such as the NHS and the Prison Service. The Vetting and Barring Scheme will be run by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Access Northern Ireland. The ISA will make the barring decisions and will maintain the two barred lists and the CRB will be responsible for the administration of the scheme. From 26 July 2010, new starters and those moving jobs who want to work with children or vulnerable adults can start to apply for ISA registration and the online ISA-registration service will be introduced at the same time. Such workers must register from November 2010. Registration will cost £64 in England and Wales and £58 in Northern Ireland, although this fee is waived for volunteers. All others who work with children or vulnerable adults will be phased into the scheme by 2015. Once the online service is up and running, subsequent employers or service providers will be able to check an individual’s status online free of charge. In most cases, they will also be able to or must obtain a CRB check. From 12 October, all employers, who are able to or must obtain a CRB check which includes information held on the barring lists, must apply for an enhanced CRB check as the standard CRB check will no longer include such information (although it will continue to be available for all other positions covered by the Exceptions Order 1975 to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, for example positions within the security industry and financial services). From 1 October 2009, the cost of a standard CRB check reduces from £31 to £26, the cost of an enhanced CRB check remains at £36. There will also be a new ongoing duty to share information and employers, social services and professional regulators must notify the ISA of relevant information. Employers who knowingly permit a barred individual to engage in regulated activity will face a penalty of up to 6 months in prison plus a fine. It will also be a criminal offence for a barred individual to seek or undertake work with children or vulnerable adults. The CRB website contains more details and the Vetting and Barring Scheme Contact Centre can be contacted with regard to any questions or queries on 0300 123 111. Directors Companies Act 2006 – final implementation See EM ¶2103, ¶2112 The implementation of the Companies Act 2006 was finally completed on 1 October. The principal topics covered by the provisions which are newly in force are: incorporation, the memorandum and articles, shares and share capital and Companies House. For details of the main changes brought into force and the last-minute regulations published, see Company Law Memo 2009 Newsletter Issue 5. In summary, these include: » the introduction of a new incorporation regime, which includes new default articles governing the management of companies (i.e. the articles relied on by companies that do not register their own articles or amendments to the default form). These new Model Articles replace Table A for companies incorporated on or after 1 October; » the automatic changing of existing companies’ memoranda; » no longer requiring directors to disclose their residential addresses on the public register. Instead, directors can register a service address at Companies House at which they can be contacted (the service address can be the director’s residential address if he wishes, but there will be nothing on the register to identify it as such). So that directors can still be traced by the authorities if necessary, each director’s residential address must still be submitted to Companies House and the company must keep a new register of directors’ residential addresses to accompany its register of directors and secretaries; » all Companies House forms changing including those used to register information about directors, see the Companies House website for details: http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/index.shtml; and » companies now being allowed to keep copies of directors’ service contracts at a single alternative inspection location (SAIL) instead of their registered office. This also applies to other records and registers that a company must make available for inspection. Companies Act 2006 Companies (Model Articles) Regulations SI 2008/3229 Companies (Company Records) Regulations SI 2008/3006 Companies (Disclosure of Address) Regulations SI 2009/214 Remuneration National minimum wage – gratuities paid through payroll system See EM ¶2846, ¶2875 From 1 October 2009, tips and gratuities paid through the employer’s payroll system are not to be treated as part of an individual’s pay for the purposes of NMW. National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations SI 2009/1902
National minimum wage – new rates See EM ¶2869, ¶2875 The new national minimum wage rates from 1 October 2009 are as follows:
The accommodation offset will rise from £4.46 per day to £4.51. National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations SI 2009/1902
Awards based on a week’s pay – October increase See EM ¶2923, ¶8575, ¶9005, ¶9054 There is a statutory cap on the amount of a week’s pay which is used to calculate certain awards, the most important of these relating to: » statutory redundancy payments; and » basic awards and additional awards in unfair dismissal cases. The current maximum will be increased from £350 to £380 for events giving rise to the entitlement to compensation or other payments on or after 1 October 2009. The following table sets out the resultant changes:
Work and Families (Increase of Maximum Amount) Order SI 2009/1903 Comment There will be no further increases in February 2010. However, the amount of other awards, which are not based on a week’s pay (for example, the maximum limit for unfair dismissal compensatory awards), may increase next February. Data protection Notification – change in fee structure See EM ¶5993 Certain data controllers should notify the Information Commissioner before they process personal data (see ¶5990). Notification to the Commissioner must be accompanied by an annual fee, currently £35. From 1 October 2009, this will be replaced by a two-tiered fee structure. The fee for a data controller in tier 1 will be £35 and the fee for tier 2 will be £500. A data controller will be in tier 2 if it has 250 or more members of staff and either has a turnover of at least £25.9 million or is a public authority. Charities and small occupational pension schemes are exempt from tier 2. Data Protection (Notification and Notification Fees) (Amendment) Regulations SI 2009/1677 Appeals New UK Supreme Court See EM ¶9830+ On 1 October 2009 the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will replace the House of Lords in its judicial capacity. Further details can be found on its website: http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/index.html Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Supreme Court Rules SI 2009/1603 Practice Directions 1 to 14 |
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FOCUS ON… LEGISLATIVE CHANGES IN OCT 2009 |
