Employment Law SOS: Three recent changes to the law

2013 has been a busy year in terms of employment law and October was no exception. Three key changes which came into force on 1 October which are likely to affect your business, are: - Repeal of third-party harassment provisions in the Equality Act 2010 Under these provisions, an employer could be held vicariously liable for harassment of its employees by a third party, such as a customer or a contractor, if that third party had harassed the employee on at least two previous occasions and the employee had failed to take reasonably practicable steps to stop this. While employers may welcome this particular change, it is important to remember that they remain potentially liable for actions towards their employees by third parties, either under existing harassment provisions (which remain in force under the Equality Act), or in relation to potential constructive dismissal or personal injury claims. - Reporting of Injuries regulations and first aid requirement changes New regulations have revoked and replaced the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 and clarify employers' obligations to inform enforcing authorities about work-related accidents. In addition, the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 have been amended in order to remove the requirement for the Health and Safety Executive to approve first-aid training and qualifications. Employers now have more scope/options when fulfilling their health and safety training obligations. - Increases in the national minimum wage (NMW) The NMW hourly rate for workers aged 21 and over has been increased to £6.31. The hourly rate for workers aged 18-20 has increased to £5.03. For workers aged 16-17 it increased to £3.72 and for apprentices it increased to £2.68.