AFTER the festive celebrations, it’s time to take a closer look at how changes in employment law will affect your business in the first quarter of 2011.

From January 1, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) will publish details of any employer found to have breached the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. This is certain to attract media attention.

From February 1, changes to compensatory limits will apply , namely –

• the amount of a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating statutory redundancy payments will increase from £380 to £400 for dismissals taking effect after February 1, 2011;

• the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal claims will increase from £65,300 to £68,400;

• guaranteed pay increases from £21.20 a day to £22.20 a day will apply

April 2011 will see changes to the current default retirement age of 65. Employers can compulsonly retire employees who reach the age of 65 provided proper procedures are followed. However, you will have heard in the news over the last few months that the Government will be abolishing this in April 2011. In its place there will either be a higher age limit or no age limit at all. Also, in April 2011 the right to request flexible working will be extended to parents of children under 18 (currently the age is under 17). In addition, the Government will be consulting on extending this right to request flexible working to all employees.

A further family friendly right in force already but affecting parents who are expecting a child on or after April 3, 2011 allows mothers with maternity leave outstanding after the child is 20 weeks old to transfer up to six months of maternity leave to the father or partner, some of it paid. From April 11 the statutory sick pay and statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay rates are due to change again, namely

• Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay, and maternity allowance, increasing from £124.88 to £128.73 per week; and

• Statutory sick pay increasing from £79.15 to £81.60 per week

The announcement of Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton on April 29 will result in another bank holiday in 2011. Employees are not entitled to an additional day’s annual leave unless their contracts of employment allow for this. So workers entitled to 28 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays shall not be entitled to the additional bank holiday. However, if the contract provides for 20 days plus bank holidays, they shall be entitled to the additional day’s leave.

• Gillian Markland is head of employment law at Ingrams Solicitors.