The European Court of Justice has ruled that a 13-week qualifying period of employment for paid holidays is contrary to the EU Working Time Directive and that there should be a system of accrued paid annual leave during the first year.
New parents
Government has announced that parents will be given a new right to request to work flexible hours when returning to work after the birth of a child. Employers will have to provide reasonable grounds for refusal. A government appointed task force is due to report by November on work/life issues, including how flexible working can be introduced in a 'business friendly' way.
National Minimum Wage
The Low Pay Commission proposed that the youth rate should be increased from £3.20 per hour to £3.60 per hour by October 2002 in line with the adult rate increase. The government has announced recently that it will increase the NMW development rate for workers aged 18-21 inclusive to £3.50 on October 2001. It has also agreed in principle to a further increase to £3.60 on October 2002. It rejected a recommendation to lower the youth rate age to 18-20.
www.dti.gov.uk/er/nmw
Byatt Review
The Byatt Review of local government procurement, 'Delivering Better Services for Citizens, was published at the end of June.
www.dtlr.gov.uk/consult.htm
Source
The Facilities Business
