National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2008 come into force (1 October 2008)
The Regulations increase the main (adult) rate of the national minimum wage from £5.52 to £5.73 per hour. In addition, the development rate increases from £4.60 to £4.77 and rate for workers aged 16 and 17 increases from £3.40 to £3.53 per hour.
Amendments to law on terms and conditions of employment during maternity and adoption leave (5 October 2008)
Employees on additional maternity or adoption leave are entitled, like employees taking ordinary leave, to the benefit of all the non-remuneration terms and conditions of employment that would have applied if they had not been absent. The amendments apply to employees with an expected week of childbirth on or after 5 October 2008, and those with a child expected to be placed with them for adoption on or after this date.
Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 come into force (27 October 2008)
The Regulations amend the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 so that agency workers on contracts of less than three months are not excluded from statutory sick pay.
Right to request time off for training is introduced (To be confirmed)
A right to request time off to undertake training, modelled on the right to request flexible working, is introduced. Employers will be obliged to consider seriously requests that they receive, but will be able to refuse a request where there is a good business reason for doing so. Employers will not be obliged to meet the salary or training costs to enable a request for time off to train to be met.
New points-based immigration system: tier two implemented (Autumn 2008)
Tier two of the new points-based immigration system, covering skilled workers with a job offer to fill gaps in the UK labour force, is implemented.
New points-based immigration system: tier five implemented (Autumn 2008)
Tier five of the new points-based immigration system, covering youth mobility migrants and temporary workers coming to the UK to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives, is implemented.
New points-based immigration system: tier four implemented (Spring 2009)
Tier four of the new points-based immigration system, covering students, is implemented.
Minimum statutory holiday entitlement increases to 28 days (1 April 2009)
The statutory entitlement to paid holiday increases from 24 days to 28 days.