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April 2009

Employment Law Changes

Changes to employment law and practice led by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform are normally implemented in either April of October. The reason for this is to make life easier for employers, who must ensure that their policies and procedures comply by the implementation dates - or risk significant penalties.

The main changes due to be introduced in April 2009 are:

Repeal of the Dispute Resolution Procedures - 6 April 2009

Issue 19, April 2009 - Dispute Resolution - Are You Prepared For The New Regime?

In order to establish what it is hoped will be a more flexible system for dealing with workplace disputes, as of 6 April 2009 the Employment Act 2008 repeals the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures in their entirety. In their place will be a revised voluntary Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Code of Practice, which sets out the basic principles for ensuring fairness and transparency when handling disciplinary problems and grievances in the workplace. The new arrangements will apply to any case where the trigger event takes place on or after 6 April 2009.