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01/05/2012 - Employment Law News Update

Tribunal Statistics Update
Quarterly statistics for the Tribunals Service covering the period 1 October – 31 December have recently been released and show (compared to last year), a 40% increase in the overall number of claims to our Employment Tribunals. The number of single claims has remained static but there has been a 65% increase in multiple claims.

Tier 2 Highly Skilled Worker Cap
The Government has now announced that under the Points Based immigration system the annual cap on the number of Tier 2 Highly Skilled migrant workers will remain at 20,700 until April 2014.

Minimum Wage – October 2012
Announcements at the end of March confirmed that the NMW rates from October 2012 will be as follows:

• The Main rate for those aged 21 + will be £6.19 an hour (11p per hour increase);
• The young worker rate for 18-20 year olds will not change (£4.98 per hour);
• The rate for 16-17 year olds will not change (£3.68 per hour); and
• The rate for apprentices will be £2.65 an hour (5p per hour increase).

Unfair Dismissal Qualifying Period – 6 April 2012
As we have previously reported, those employed from 6 April 2012 will need 2 years continuous service before they are able to claim ordinary unfair dismissal. The right to request written reasons for dismissal is also increased to 2 years for those employed from this date (subject to an exception for those who are pregnant or on maternity leave).

Costs in the Employment Tribunal
For claims submitted on or after 6 April 2012, the maximum amount of a costs order that a Tribunal may award in favour of a legally represented party doubles from £10,000 to £20,000 (subject to some exceptions).

Authored by:

Catharine Geddes (show profile)

Published by:

Allison Grant (show profile)

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