Member Article

Businesses unprepared for new employment laws

Businesses must not be caught out by new employment laws coming into force in October, recruitment agencies are warning.

From October 1 The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 will forbid any form of age discrimination against employees. Employers could face the risk of massive compensation claims if unsuccessful applicants accuse them of ageist recruitment processes. The rules prohibit any unjustified age discrimination, harassment or victimisation based on age, regardless of whether the victim is old or young. There will be no upper age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights, giving older workers the same rights as young workers when it comes to unfair dismissal claims or redundancy payouts.

Laura Maddison, director of Altitude Recruitment, said: “The new rules mean CVs will no longer state candidates’ dates of birth, which can only be a good thing for candidates and employers alike. It means applicants will be judged on ability alone and not their age. In terms of recruiters, they cannot be accused of age-discrimination if ages are unknown. “The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 are an important leap forward for the recruitment industry, they will result in a much fairer selection processes and have been a long time coming.”

October 1 is also the date for new laws related to temporary workers. Anyone who supplies workers to the agriculture, horticulture and food/drink processing and packaging sectors will need a Gangmasters Licence from October 1st. After that date it will be illegal to operate without a licence, and the offence punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine. The new laws follow the cockle picker tragedy of 2004, where 19 migrants died while collecting cockles in Morecambe Bay. The government has acted to take action against the exploitation of labour in food-related industries. However, research commissioned by Defra suggests that of the 1000 Labour Providers supplying 600,000 workers in the UK, only 714 have so far applied for a GLA licence.

Chief Executive Officer for local recruitment company LMR Richard Burton said: “I’m astonished that there are still 300 labour providers who are not yet licenced. “This is worrying because companies who don’t get a licence will be breaking the law and the consequences for them can be extremely serious - even leading to jail sentences.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .