Business Update October 2006
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Key links
Age concern
Following the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, employees who have been discriminated against on grounds of age can take their complaint to an employment tribunal. Employers ...Q&A: Maternity and paternity leave
Steve Williams (SW), head of equality services at Acas, explains what the recent changes to maternity pay and leave mean for employers. How much time off is allowed for maternity leave? SW: ...Flood alert
"About 25 per cent of small firms fail within a year of suffering serious flood damage," warns Ron Whitehead, chairman of the Flood Protection Association. "Get help from professionals ...Online marketing
An accessible website or targeted email can be effective ...Sales forecasting
According to Geoff Hurst, marketing director at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, sales forecasting is a cornerstone of the business-planning process. "Sales forecasting is essential. If you ...Ten ways to...get more customers through your door
Winning sales from people who would not otherwise know about your business, let alone visit your premises, will make a considerable difference to your firm. Here are some simple things you can do to ...Age discrimination at work is outlawed.
The new rules affect every stage of the employment process: recruitment, terms and conditions, training, promotion, transfers, retirements and dismissals. The idea behind the regulations is that it ...National minimum wage rates have risen.
the full rate for employees aged 22 years and over has increased to £5.35 an hour
the 'development rate' for workers aged between 18 and 21 has increased to £4.45 an hour
the rate ...New family-friendly employment legislation in force.
The length of time that pregnant women and adoptive parents can take off work has been extended to a year. Where the child is due on or after 1 April 2007, statutory maternity pay is now payable for ...Fire-safety rules mean businesses must carry out risk assessments.
Anyone with control of commercial premises is now required to take reasonable steps to remove or reduce the risk of fire as far as possible, and to put a plan in place ensuring people can escape ...Pension provisions of age-discrimination legislation postponed
The Government recently announced that employers have an extra two months to adjust their occupational pension schemes to bring them in line with new age-discrimination legislation.
The main ...DTI redundancy ready-reckoners
New online 'redundancy ready-reckoners' will help employers take account of changes to the way statutory redundancy payments are calculated from 1 October 2006, when the new age-discrimination rules ...Enhanced capital allowances for energy-saving equipment
Businesses can now claim 100 per cent first-year capital allowances when buying a range of energy-saving equipment, thanks to changes introduced under the capital allowances legislation, which took ...Case law: European ruling on rest breaks
Employers are under a stricter duty to ensure that workers can take the rest breaks they are entitled to under working-time legislation, following a recent decision by the European Court of ...Case law: successful claim for stress at work
A new High Court ruling shows that it is not only those working excessive full-time hours who can successfully claim for work-related stress. The case also highlights that plans for employees ...Case law: employer liable for injury caused by 'work equipment'
Employers, especially those who occupy shared buildings, may be liable for injuries caused to their staff in common areas even in circumstances they thought were beyond their control.
In a recent ...Case law: 'dismissal letter' guidance under statutory grievance procedure
Employers should ensure that reasons for dismissal given in dismissal letters to employees are sufficiently clear and detailed, to avoid the risk of an unfair dismissal claim.
The Employment ...Distance-selling guide for businesses published
Businesses that sell goods and services online, by phone or mail order will welcome guidance published recently on the application of the legal regulations governing distance selling.
The DTI ...Is this your problem?
One of my employees is taking too many cigarette breaks...If one of your staff is pushing the boundaries on taking fag breaks it can affect the morale of other employees as well as reducing that ...