October 2014 brings with it a number of employment law changes for you to be aware of. We look at them in detail here.

1. National Minimum Wage increases

From the 1 October 2014, the national minimum wage increases from £6.31 to £6.50. The youth rate increases from £5.03 to £5.13 per hour. This is in line with the Low Pay Commission?s recommendation to the Government.

2. Equal Pay audits

Where an equal pay claim is submitted, and the employment tribunal finds that there has been an equal pay breach, it must order the employer to carry out an equal pay audit unless an exception applies.

The exceptions set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014 relate to, among other things, whether or not the employer has recently carried out an audit that meets certain requirements, and whether or not the benefits delivered by the audit would exceed the disadvantages of conducting it.

We can help you prepare an equal pay audit should this be something you might require.

3. Reservists better protected from unfair dismissal

With effect from 1 October 2014, where an employee is dismissed exclusively (or mainly) because he or she is a member of reserve force, the normal two-year service requirement for bringing an unfair dismissal claim does not apply, and an employee may pursue a claim immediately in these circumstances.

This is of importance following the Ministry of Justice's recent recruitment drive for armed forces reservists.

4. Time off to accompany partner to antenatal appointment

As we discussed in our previous blog, employees and agency workers will have the right to take unpaid time off to accompany a pregnant woman with whom they have a 'qualifying relationship' to up to two antenatal appointments.