Legal News Update

In this round up of recent news, we report that the dual discrimination provisions of the Equality Act 2010 will not come into force in April and that the Government has delayed implementation of the right to request time off for training for employees of SMEs.  We also bring you news of proposed changes to the immigration rules from April 2011.

Dual discrimination will not come into force in April

The dual discrimination provisions in the Equality Act 2010 were due to come into force in April 2011.  However, the Government Equalities Office has confirmed that the implementation of the dual discrimination provisions will be postponed, in order to allow more time to consider the best way to implement the provisions.

The Government has not indicated when dual discrimination is now likely to be implemented, but has confirmed that it will publish guidance 12 weeks before the provisions are due to come into force.

Implementation of right to time off to train for employees of SMEs is delayed

Since 6 April 2010, employees of organisations with 250 or more employees have had the right to request time off work for training.  The right was due to be extended to all employees, regardless of the size of the employer's organisation, from April 2011.  However, the Government has delayed the extension to allow further time to consider the potential impact of the right on smaller employers.

Proposed changes to immigration rules announced

The Government has announced reforms to the points-based immigration system, which are expected to apply from 6 April 2011 onwards.  The key change is that the annual immigration cap will be 20,700 under Tier 2 (General).  The annual cap will be divided into equal monthly allocations, although unused allocations may be rolled over into the following month.  An important part of the proposed reforms is the Government's intention that those earning over £150,000 per annum will be excluded from the annual and monthly caps, in order that the UK "can attract the brightest and the best".

Source Shepherd and Wedderburn