United Kingdom Edition March 15-21, 2010 Practice Management Tribune 19 Avoiding workplace discrimination With the introduction of the Equality Act discrimination legislation is to have its biggest overhaul for many years. To make sure dental employers comply with the law, Sunil Abeyewickreme and Sarah Leyland discuss how the new developments apply T he Equality Act will be the most significant piece of legislation to be introduced this year. It is due to receive Royal Assent in April, although the provisions are unlikely to come into force before October this year. Once Royal Assent has been received, even if there is a change in government following a general election, it will become law. The main purpose of the Equality Act is to harmonise the existing equality legislation. This has required the legislators to review, simplify and modernise discrimination law, which was introduced over 40 years, often in a piecemeal fashion. Most of the Act simply restates the law in a more logical and accessible form. There are a number of significant reforms as well. employers to take legal advice on their employment practices as soon as the Bill is finalised and receives Royal Assent, (probably April 2010). The Equality Act is expected to be in force by October 2010, so employers will have to ensure their employment contracts, recruitment and HR policies are updated. Paternity leave Fathers will be able to take more time off while their baby’s mother returns to work, making childcare easier to share for babies due on or after 4 April 2011. Currently, the law allows for a father to take two weeks paternity leave following the birth of a child and during this period of leave they will receive Statutory paternity pay which is currently set at £123.06 per week. From 4 April 2011, fathers will be able to take up to 26 weeks’ paternity leave while their child’s mother returns to work. A father will have a legal right to take the place of the mother at home during the second six months of the child’s life. Up to three months’ paternity leave will be paid at the same rate as statutory maternity pay if the leave is taken during the mother’s 39-week maternity pay period. The remainder will be unpaid. Employers will need to ensure that maternity and paternity leave policies are changed in due course. If the Conservative party wins the next general election it has expressed a commitment to extending paternity provisions, and it is currently proposing to extend the provisions further to allow both parents to take paid time off simultaneously. Sick note /fit note As long-term sickness is often frustrating and costly for em- ployers (estimated to be costing the economy £100 billion annually) the Government is introducing a new electronic ‘fit note’ in April. This will replace the current medical certificates, which states whether the employee is fit to work or is not. The new “fit note” will provide information about when the employee should return to work and what they are able to do when they return. General practitioners (Gps) will be required to indicate whether the individual “may be fit for some work now”. The Gp will be required to describe the functional effects of the employee’s condition with the option of setting out suggested arrangements which could help them back to work. This could include a phased return, altered hours, amended duties or workplace adaptations. Unfortunately one of the criticisms of the Government’s implementation of this ‘fit note’ is that Gps have not been sufficiently trained in occupational health to make an informed assessment of the employee’s work-related capabilities. It remains essential for employers to have in place a sickness policy which clearly sets out what is expected of an employee in this situation and any action that may be required. Time off for training The Government introduced a new right to request time off work for training in legislation, which will come in force from 6 April 2010. It will apply to organisations with 250 or more employees, being extended to all employees on 6 April 2011. It is modelled on the right to request flexible working and is introduced for employees who have been continuously employed for a period of more than 26 weeks. Employers will be obliged to carefully consider requests that they receive, and will be able to refuse a request where there is a good business reason for doing so. Employers will not be obliged to pay the salary or training costs. The regulations set out the procedure to be followed when a request for time off to study or train has been made. If employers fail to comply, the maximum amount of compensation that may be awarded at the Currently, if someone is discriminated upon because of a combination of characteristics, for example an Asian woman, it is necessary to bring separate discrimination claims for each separate characteristic. This can cause difficulties and it often quite complicated. The Act introduces dual discrimination which allows a claim to be brought if a person is discriminated upon because of two combined characteristics where there may not be enough evidence to prove discrimination based on one characteristic alone. Another important provision is the measure to make equal pay more transparent. This is aimed at prohibiting employers from using secrecy clauses to prevent employees from discussing their pay. At one point it was thought that compulsory equal pay audits would be introduced for all employers but this has been dropped. The Act currently stipulates that only employers with more than 250 employees will be required to publish information about pay and gender differences. It is believed that the Government are going to further amend this to require employers of more than 500 employees to provide details. As a consequence of its passage through the House of Lords, the Equality Bill has recently been amended to prevent employers asking candidates questions about their health that are unrelated to the job role. There are further amendments expected, so it is important for The electronic ‘fit note’ will replace the current medical certification system Employment Tribunal is eight weeks’ pay. Registration with ISA The Vetting and Barring scheme will have a huge impact on dental practices. It will mean that anyone in regular contact with children or vulnerable adults in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will have to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). From 1 November 2010 it will be an offence to employ or engage someone to perform services on a self-employed basis in a role, which involves contact with vulnerable adults or children, if that person is not registered. You are required to check all your employees even those who are not directly connected with vulnerable adults and children. It is a criminal offence not to check and carries a sentence of imprisonment of up to six months. Anyone unregistered with the ISA (because they started employment before 1 November 2010), will be able to apply for registration from 1April 2011. All employees who have regular contact with children or vulnerable adults must be registered with the ISA by 31 July 2015. This means that all employees of a dental practice will have to be registered. Keep up with change Dental employers should keep abreast of the changes and ensure that they are up to speed with recent developments that will affect the dental industry. practices will need to ensure that they have the necessary policies and practices in place to address the changes. The penalties for failing to adhere to employment legislation can be severe, therefore dental employers should take legal advice at an early stage. DT ‘The Equality Act is expected to be in force by October 2010, so employers will have to ensure their employment contracts, recruitment and HR policies are updated.’ About the author Sarah Leyland is an Employment Solicitor who works with Sunil Abeyewickreme, a Barrister who heads the Employment Law Team at Cohen Cramer. Sunil will be giving a presentation on the changes in Employment Law at The Dentistry Show on 20 March 2010 at the Birmingham NEC.