What's New?

Annual Leave (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

The new right of a worker under the Annual Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (see below)  to carry forward any annual leave which has not been taken in a leave year as a result of the effects of Coronavirus to the next two leave years has been made subject to the condition that it was not reasonably practicable for the worker to have taken the leave in that leave year.

24 July 2020 

Draft Code of Practice on Equal Pay 2020 

The Cabinet Office is consulting on a draft code of code of practice on equal pay. This will be the second statutory code of practice to be issued under the Equality Act 2017.

The consultation runs from 19 – 30 July.

Consultation

Annual Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2020

These Regulations apply where a worker has not taken all of the statutory leave to which he or she was entitled in respect of a leave year as a result of the effects of Coronavirus whether on the worker, the employer, the wider economy or society or otherwise. This is called “unused leave”. 

The Regulations have 2 main effects – 

1. Unused leave may be carried forward but must be taken in the two leave years immediately following the leave year in respect of which it arose. 

2. Where employment terminates and the worker still has unused leave the employer must make a payment in lieu of such leave.

7 June 2020

Flexible Working Regulations 2020 

Amendments to the longstanding statutory right of employees to request flexible working in the Employment Act 2006 came into effect on 1 January 2020. The Flexible Working Regulations 2020 have made additional changes which came into operation on 1 June 2020. 

Key differences between the pre January 2020 right and the modified right are as follows- 

1. The previous requirement that the purpose of making a flexible working request must be to care for a dependant has been removed.

2. The process for making and responding to requests has been simplified.

3. There is no longer a qualifying period for this right.

1 June 2020

The right to request flexible working

Emergency Powers (Coronavirus) (Control of Employment) Regulations 2020 

These Regulations, made under the Emergency Powers Act 1936, apply to employment undertaken from 27 February to the end of the Proclamation of a state of emergency.  

The Regulations  -

1. extend the duration of a work permit by 6 months);

2. allow the holder of a work permit, or a person engaged in certain employments exempted from the requirement for a work permit, to change his or her job for a limited period without needing a work permit; and

3.  suspend the requirement to provide certain information about exempt employments.

3 April 2020

Employment and Equality Tribunal (Amendment) Rules 2019 

The Employment and Equality Tribunal (Amendment) Rules 2019 have amended the Employment and Equality Tribunal Rules 2018 to include the procedure for dealing with any equal value claims under the Equality Act 2017.

1 January 2020

Consolidated Employment and Equality Tribunal Rules and accompanying Explanatory Notes to the Rules

Equality Act 2017 implementation.

The protected characteristics of age and disability came into operation on 1 January 2020 together with the extension of equal pay rights to cover work of equal value

1 January 2020

See section 10 of Isle of Man Employment Rights: a Guide

Equality Act secondary legislation and guidance.

The following items of secondary legislation, guidance etc. which are connected to the final phase of implementation of the Equality Act 2017 have come into operation:

1. Equality Act 2017 (Age Exceptions for Pension Schemes) Order 2019

   This Order, which has been made by the Treasury, contains permitted exceptions for occupational pension schemes, employer contributions to personal pension schemes etc. where it is lawful to discriminate on the protected characteristic of age.

2. Equality Act 2017: Statutory Code of Practice on Employment (2019)
   
   The Statutory Code of Code, which has been issued by the Cabinet Office, provides authoritative, comprehensive and technical guidance to help individuals and organisations understand the Equality Act and their responsibilities.

3. Employment and Equality Tribunal (Amendment) Rules 2019
   
   These Rules, which have been made by the Cabinet Office, amend the Employment and Equality Tribunal Rules 2018 by setting out the procedure for dealing with any work of equal value claims under the Equality Act.

4. Guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability

   This guidance, which has been issued by the Cabinet Office, concerns the definition of disability in the Act and provides information which is helpful in determining whether a person is a disabled person for the purpose of the Equality Act. The guidance gives illustrative examples.

5. Equality Act 2017 (Disability) Regulations 2020

   Among other things, these Regulations, which have been issued by the Cabinet Office, contain provisions which supplement those in the Equality Act about when a person is or is not disabled for the purposes of the Act.

January 2020

Changes made by the Equality Act 2017 to general employment law.

As well as protecting people in work from being subjected to prohibited conduct to do with a protected characteristic the Equality Act has amended the following Acts:

1. the Redundancy Payments Act 1990 

2. the Shops Act 2000

3. the Minimum Wage Act 2001

4. the Employment Act 2006

5. the Control of Employment Act 2014

Some of the amendments are related to the main equality provisions while others are not.

For further information see the accompanying paper 'Amendments to general employment law made by the Equality Act 2017'.

July 2017 to January 2020

Amendments to general employment law made by the Equality Act 2017

Increases to minimum wage rates.                  

The hourly rates effective from 1 October 2019 are as follows: 

Category of Worker

1. Over compulsory school age but under 18 - £6.15

2. Aged over 18 (except for Development Workers) - £8.25

3. Development Worker - £7.30

1 October 2019

Minimum wage

Employment and Equality Tribunal Rules 2018.

On 1 January 2019 the Employment and Equality Tribunal (EET) replaced the existing Employment Tribunal. The new Tribunal will continue to deal with complaints under the Island's employment statutes, such as the Employment Act 2006 and it will also deal with complaints under the Equality Act 2017.

Permissible complaints under the Equality Act comprise not only complaints about employment but also complaints about the provision of goods and services, premises, education etc. To this end new Tribunal Rules have been made which came operation on 1 January 2019.

1 January 2019

Employment and Equality Tribunal Rules 2018