From the 1st October the National Minimum Wage is:

• £6.08 per hourWorkers aged 21 and over
• £4.98 per hourWorkers aged 18 to 20
• £3.68 per hourWorkers aged 16 to 17
• £2.60 per hourApprentices

Only fatal and major injuries and incidents can be reported by phone to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

This rule came into being on September 12 2011. There are forms available for reporting of all other work related injuries and incidents that are reportable under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), you can download them from the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm

It's that time of year.

Employers would be well advised to encourage their employees to have a vaccination at the start of the flu season.

You could consider offering to reimburse employees to encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity to keep healthy, this might well prove to be a small investment to ensure your staff remain fit and well over the peak of the flu season which is typically between December and March in this part of the world.

The 2011 Absence Management Survey, produced by the CIPD in partnership with Simplyhealth, has revealed for the first time that stress is the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual employees.

All employers should have a sickness monitoring programme that will identify those who are suffering from stress at work. There are a number of strategies that can be considered to help your employee get through this difficult time. Being proactive can help to ensure that your employees remain at work for longer whilst they are recovering.

Quote from Gill Phipps HR Policy Manager at Simplyhealth "Benefits that engage employees do not have to be expensive. By introducing a recognition scheme or equipping leaders with the skills they need to care for the health and wellbeing of their teams, employers can make small, affordable changes that make a positive difference."

George Osborne announced that from April 2013, employees who want to bring a tribunal claim against an employer must pay £250 to apply for a tribunal, and must pay a further £1,000 if a hearing is granted.

The money will be refunded if they are successful, but is forfeited if they lose. The Government has said that "poor claimants" will not have to pay, although there is currently no detail as to how a claimant qualifies as "poor."

The fees have been introduced in order to reduce the number of "vexatious" claims and the Government maintains that this change, together with the increase in the qualifying period, will result in 2,000 fewer tribunals each year, translating into a saving for business of
£6 million.

He also announced that the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims will increase from one year to two however after encountering accusations that the announcement had been made without a thorough consultation, it was subsequently described as a "drafting error" by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which published it so watch this space!

The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) comes into force on 01 October 2011.

An agency worker is someone who is supplied by a temp agency to work temporarily for and under the supervision and direction of a client and who has a contract of employment with the temp agency.

The regulations meant that from day one the agency worker has the following rights:

• Access to the same facilities e.g. canteen; access to childcare arrangements; use of transport services etc. and
• Information on job vacancies given to the hirer's comparable permanent staff

As the hirer you can justify less favourable treatment if you are seeking to achieve a genuine business objective. Cost may be a factor taken into account but practical and organisational factors can also be considered.

After 12 weeks in the same job:

The AWR entitles agency workers to receive the same basic employment and working conditions as permanent employees so in effect they have the right to equal treatment in basis pay; overtime; bonus and commission related to individual productivity; right to be paid for and take the same holidays as comparable permanent employees etc.