E-NEWS: 4 October 2002

Welcome to the latest edition of Enews produced by Steele & Co., Solicitors. In this issue we report on:

* Age Discrimination - the Future
* Tipping Practices - Human Rights Case Fails
* New Rules on Part Time Workers
* National Minimum Wage Increase
* New Agricultural Minimum Wage
* Autumn Seminars

AGE DISCRIMINATION - THE FUTURE

The ratification of the EC Equal Treatment Framework Directive (2000/78) provides that the UK as well as other member states must prohibit direct and indirect age discrimination by 2 December 2006.

Although the impact of this directive will not be felt until such time, case law is already pre-empting this legislation.

The recent and ongoing case of Rutherford & anor v Towncircle Ltd (t/a Harvest) (in liquidation) & anor questioned the lawfulness of the sections in the Employment Rights Act 1996, which prevent employees from claiming the right to a redundancy payment and the right not to be unfairly dismissed, once they have reached the age of 65, or (if one exists) the normal retirement age set by their employer.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal found in Rutherford that these rules were indirectly discriminatory against men, as more men than women work beyond the age of 65 and are disproportionately affected as a result. This was found to be contrary to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.

The Government has announced that it intends to appeal this decision. However, employees are advised to lodge any claims they may have pending a final decision, to avoid such claims being made "out of time".

TIPPING PRACTICES - HUMAN RIGHTS CASE FAILS

This case concerned a practice by which tips paid to waiters by credit card or cheque were used by the employer to count towards remuneration (and thus the minimum wage). Each employee's share of the tips was shown on their pay slip, as part of their wages.

The High Court and Court of Appeal dismissed the employees claims that their employer should not use these sums to count towards the remuneration which the employees were due under relevant minimum wage legislation.

The case eventually went to the European Court of Human Rights, which decided that such a practise did not breach Article 1 of the Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for the right to private property nor did it breach the non-discrimination rights in Article 14.

Tips paid in this way could be used to raise the employees' average hourly rates during the pay period, so that it complied with the minimum wage. The Court stated that it was for the employees to come to an arrangement with their employer as to how the tips were to be dealt with. They could not use Protocol 1 to found a claim for a higher level of earnings.

NEW RULES ON PART TIME WORKERS

The Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (Amendment) Regulations 2002 SI 2002/2035 came into force on 1 October 2002.

These amendments remove the distinction between fixed-term and permanent contracts for the purposes of ascertaining what are different types of contract. This means that a part-time fixed-term worker may now make a claim on the basis that their contract is less favourable than that of another worker who has a permanent contract to do broadly similar work.

The new rules also remove the provision limiting the compensation that employment tribunals can award in occupational pension scheme cases.

NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

On 1 October 2002 an increase in the national minimum wage came into force as a result of The National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2002 SI 2002/1999.

From now on the minimum wage for workers over 22 years of age will be £4.20 instead of £4.10 and for those between 18 and 22 years of age the minimum wage will be £3.60 instead of £3.50.

NEW AGRICULTURAL MINIMUM WAGE

On 1 October 2002 new agricultural minimum wages came into force, after the Agricultural Wages Board proposed a new order in July 2002.

The standard minimum rate for an adult worker has increased from £4.77 an hour to £4.91 an hour. Other rates have also have also been increased pro rata. This therefore represents an increase of approximately 3%.

Employers will therefore need to alter the wages of their employees accordingly to comply with both the new minimum wage and the new agricultural minimum wage.

AUTUMN SEMINARS

Places are still available on our latest round of seminars, being held this month. The morning session of our seminars in Ipswich, Cambridge and Norwich will cover a few of the more common problems to face HR Managers in todays workplace (entitled "A Bad Day at the Office"). This will be followed by an update of the most recent employment law developments in the afternoon.

The morning session of our London seminar, however, will cover Managing Sickness Absence & Stress at Work, along with an employment update in the afternoon.

The dates for the seminars are as follows, if you would like to book a place or receive further information, please e-mail us:

"A Bad Day at the Office"

* Tuesday 3rd October - Ipswich, The Courtyard.

* Thursday 24th October - Cambridge, Holiday Inn.

* Tuesday 29th October - Norwich, Park Farm Hotel

Managing Sickness Absence and Stress at Work

* Thursday 10th October - London, EEF Broadway House

WE CAN HELP YOU:

Please use the links on this page if you:

* Want to receive more information/advice on any of the matters in this edition (please give details of the matter you require advice on).

* Want advice on any employment matters

* The employment team also conducts practical in-house training and workshops for companies on a wide range of issues including:-

Managing sickness absence/stress in the workplace
Misconduct and the disciplinary procedure
Poor performance
Handling redundancy situations
Avoiding unlawful discrimination claims
Avoiding unfair dismissals
Employment law update and practical advice for line managers

* Our aim is to offer line managers practical training to ensure that costly mistakes are avoided. All of the training workshops are tailored to meet the exact requirements of each individual business.

* If you are interested in finding out more about such training please do not hesitate to give us a call.

Visit our web site http://www.steeleslaw.co.uk

See this and other articles from Steele & Co on the web at: hrmguide.co.uk

This bulletin is intended for general guidance only and should not be relied upon without detailed legal advice on your specific circumstances.

This article copyright © 2002 Steeles Law. All rights reserved.