What's New?
| Change | Implementation Date | Further information |
|---|---|---|
| Forthcoming legislative changes | ||
| Equality Act 2017 The Equality Act 2017 will deal with discrimination comprehensively in respect of both employment and the provision of goods and services on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Work on bringing the Act into operation is being led by the Cabinet Office but with support from the Department for Enterprise (DfE). Copies of the Act and accompanying Explanatory Notes can be downloaded by clicking on the links in the right hand column. Following the announcement of Royal Assent, on 18 July 2017 the Act is being phased in, with the great majority of the provisions expected to come into operation by January 2020. The Equality Act 2017 (Appointed Day)(No. 1) Order 2017 and The Equality Act 2017 (Appointed Day)(No. 2) Order 2017 have brought into operation certain provisions of Schedule 22 [employment legislation – miscellaneous amendments], Schedule 23 [consequential and minor amendments] and Schedule 24 [repeals] to the Act. The provisions relate to changes to employment law which are not connected to the Act's main provisions. See the document Equality Act 2017 – Miscellaneous amendments to employment law currently in force for further information. The Equality Act 2017 (Appointed Day No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2017 sets out the implementation dates for the main equality provisions in the Act: - provisions which enable the making of subordinate legislation and the issuing of guidance under the Act came into operation on 1st January 2018; - the great majority of the provisions of the Act will come into operation on 1 January 2019 at which time the Employment and Equality Tribunal will replace the Employment Tribunal; - the protected characteristics of disability and age discrimination will come into operation on 1 January 2020 as will extended equal pay rights, covering, in particular work of equal value. The Cabinet Office has recently appointed an equality adviser to brief employers, workers and other interested parties on the effects of the Act and to advise of any necessary preparations well in advance of the Act's main provisions coming into force. Further information about the appointment will be available shortly. |
20 July 2017 to 1 January 2020 | The Equality Act 2017 The Equality Act 2017 – Explanatory Notes The Equality Act 2017 (Appointed Day)(No. 1) Order 2017 The Equality Act 2017 (Appointed Day)(No. 2) Order 2017 Equality Act 2017 – Miscellaneous amendments to employment law currently in force The Equality Act 2017 (Appointed Day No. 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2017 |
| Recent legislative changes | ||
| The Transfer of Functions (Economic Development and Education) Order 2017 The above order was approved at the November Tynwald. The effect of the Order is that, inter alia, on Friday 24 November the Department of Economic Development became the Department for Enterprise (DfE). DfE is now responsible for employment law (including work permit legislation and administration). Other than the change in name the order will not result in any changes in this area. At the same time the Department of Education and Children became the Department of Education, Sport and Culture. It will take us a little time to update all the references to the Department of Economic Development / DED in all our employment law guides so please bear with us! |
24 November 2017 | Transfer of Functions (Economic Development and Education) Order 2017 |
| Work permit reforms come into operation The following work permit reforms have recently come into operation - - New, simplified fee structure - a flat rate fee of £60 applies regardless of the length of the permit sought - Automatic 1 year permit for cohabiting partners of Isle of Man workers which can be used against any employment, available upon application to the work permit office - Automatic 1 year permit for cohabiting partners of work permit holders and most exempt persons which can be used against any employment, available upon application to the work permit office - Fewer people from outside the European Economic Area will require a CEA permit - shorter, and employer only, application form; - simplified list of matters to be taken into consideration by the Department; - new register of persons in exempt employment. |
1 November 2017 to 15 January 201 | Control of Employment (Cohabiting Partners of Isle of Man Workers) Order 2017 Control of Employment Regulations 2017 The Work Permits (Fees) Order 2017 Control of Employment (Amendment of Schedule 1) (No.2) Order 2017 |
| Changes to the Control of Employment Act 2014 made by the Equality Act 2017 Firstly, there is new category of Isle of Man worker. A person is an Isle of Man worker if he or she is the grandchild of a person who - (a) was born in the Island, and (b) was ordinarily resident in the Island for an unbroken period of at least 5 years immediately following the birth. The second change extends the right to a spouse/civil partner permit. Where a work permit holder or exempt person is engaged in permanent, regular, full-time employment his or her spouse or civil partner is, upon application to the DED, entitled to a work permit, often referred to as “a spouse/civil partner permit”. Such a permit is granted for a year at a time, beginning with the date on which it is granted or renewed and it can be used in any employment. The right to a spouse / civil partner permit has been extended to spouses and civil partners of persons from outside the European Economic Area who are working in the Island by virtue of an “immigration employment document”. This is a certificate of sponsorship validly issued by a sponsor indicating, in accordance with the Immigration Act, that a person named in it is eligible for leave to enter or remain in the Island for the purpose of taking up or continuing a specified employment in the Island with the sponsor in accordance with that certificate’s terms. The Control of Employment Act 2014 - Proposals for New Secondary Legislation The Department of Economic Development recently consulted on proposed changes to work permit controls. The closing date for the consultation was 31 August 2017. Further information |
20 July 2017 | |
| Minimum Wage Regulations 2017 The Minimum Wage (Single Hourly Rate) (No. 2) Regulations 2017 and the Minimum Wage (Young Workers) (No. 2) Regulations 2017 change the minimum wage rates from 1 June 2017 as follows. For a worker: - aged 25 years and over - £7.50 - aged 21 years and over - £7.20 - aged 21 or over, receiving training accredited by the Department of Economic Development, and within the first 6 months of employment with his or her employer - £6.85 - aged 18 years and over - £6.85 - who is over compulsory school age but not 18 - £5.70 |
1 June 2017 | Minimum Wage (Single Hourly Rate) (No. 2) Regulations 2017 Minimum Wage (Young Workers) (No. 2) Regulations 2017 |
| Employment of Children (Amendment) Regulations 2017 The Employment of Children (Amendment) Regulations 2017, made by the former Department of Education and Children, amend the Employment of Children Regulations 2005 to increase the age of children to whom the restrictions on employment (in work other than light work) apply, from 15 to 16. These Regulations also remove the prohibition onchildren over 16 working in discotheques, dance halls and night clubs and clarify the rest periods employed children must take. |
1 March 2017 | Employment of Children (Amendment) Regulations 2017 Employment of Children Regulations 2005 |
| The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2016 The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2016, which was approved by Tynwald on 13 December 2016, prescribes persons for the purposes of section 54 of the Employment Act 2006, which relates to 'whistle-blowing'. The effect of the Order, taken with section 54, is that a worker will be protected by Part IV of that Act if, in good faith, he or she discloses an offence, breach or failure to a person specified in column 1 of the Schedule to the Order, reasonably believing that the offence, breach or failure disclosed falls within the matters specified in column 2 of the Schedule. The order replaces an earlier order from 2007. |
16 December 2016 | The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2016 |
| Increase in Compensation Limits The Employment (Maximum Amount of Awards) Order 2016, which was approved at the July Tynwald, has increased from £50,000 to £56,000 the maximum amount of certain awards which may be made by the Employment Tribunal, viz. compensatory awards on a complaint of unfair dismissal, discrimination at recruitment on trade union grounds, sex discrimination, detriment for enforcing the right to the minimum wage and for failure to comply with an order for reinstatement or re-engagement. The Employment (Maximum Amount of a Week's Pay) Order 2016, also approved at the July Tynwald, has increased from £480 to £540 the maximum amount of a week’s pay, which is used for calculating the basic award of compensation which may be made by the Employment Tribunal on a complaint of unfair dismissal, and various other awards under the Employment Act 2006, and a redundancy payment under the Redundancy Payments Act 1990.The increases apply where the event giving rise to the entitlement to compensation occurred on or after 1 August 2016. |
1 August 2016 | Employment (Maximum Amount of Awards) Order 2016 Employment (Maximum Amount of a Week's Pay) Order 2016 |
| New or revised guides | ||
| Guide | Publication date | Further information |
| A Guide to Work Permits | January 2018 | A Guide to Work Permits |
| Isle of Man Employment Rights and Responsibilities: a Guide for Employers, Employees and Workers | January 2018 | Isle of Man Employment Rights and Responsibilities: a Guide for Employers, Employees and Workers |
| Isle of Man Employment Rights: a Summary | June 2017 | Isle of Man Employment Rights: a Summary |
| Polish Edition of 'Isle of Man Employment Rights: a Summary' | June 2017 | Polish Edition of 'Isle of Man Employment Rights: a Summary' |
