Employment Law Update Timetable for April 2011

With all the changes to Employment Law in April here's a table of dates to help simplify the many updates! 

Date	Action	Detail
3rd April	Statutory maternity, paternity, and adoption pay	Statutory maternity, paternity, and adoption pay increased to £128.73
3rd April	Paternity leave extension	Fathers/partners of mothers with babies due on or after 3 April, or matched for adoption on or after that date, will be entitled to take up to six months additional paternity leave provided the mother has returned to work with leave remaining
5th April	Default retirement age	Final date on which employers can issue six and 12-month retirement notices under transitional provisions
6th April	Default retirement age	The DRA is abolished. Employers are no longer able to issue notifications for compulsory  retirement using DRA procedure
6th April	Equality Act 2011	The positive action in recruitment and promotion permit employers to choose applicants with a protected characteristic when deciding between equally qualified candidates. The public-sector equality duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination against those with protected characteristics also comes into force on 6 April, together with the new equal pay and employment codes of practice
6th April	Statutory Sick Pay	Statutory sick pay increased to £81.60 per week
6th April	Pay	Tax code arrangements for termination payments changes
6th April	National Insurance Contributions	Employers NI contributions increase by 1% to 13.8% and for employees from 11% to 12%
6th April	Time off to train	The extension of this right to employers with fewer than 250 employees, due this month, was also cancelled in the budget.
	Holidays	There will be an additional bank holiday on Friday 29 April 2011 to mark the royal wedding