A recent study by MHA, an association of business advisory firms and commissioned by Monahans Business Bureau, suggests that the majority of employers struggle to keep up to date with changes in employment law.

The study looked at employers with between three and 120 employees operating in the manufacturing, technology, charity and education sectors.

The respondents were asked what impact changes in employment legislation would have on their businesses and their employee relations.

Among the findings were some statistics that demonstrate that major changes have been poorly publicised in particular that:

• 74 per cent were unaware that the amount of unpaid parental leave that can be taken has risen from 13 to 18 weeks

• 52 per cent were unaware that settlement agreements had been introduced and that it is now possible to have confidential conversations with an employee about terminating their employment that may not be referred to in Tribunal proceedings providing the recommended guidance is followed

• 91 per cent were unaware that they could take part in consultations over changes

• 63 per cent did not believe that there were any changes that would have an impact on their business,

The report concluded that 'its hard for businesses to keep up to date with legislation changes and identify what is relevant to them' and that while Government is publicly committed to reducing red tape that the lack of communication and effective information was hampering that.

The availability of settlement agreements, whether or not there is an ongoing dispute, means that an employer can now deal with problems in the workplace or changes in the need for staff without having to go through a lengthy process.

Where the working relationship between employee and employer has broken down this provides a mechanism for confidential discussions about an agreed basis for the termination of employment. In the agreement normally the employee waives his or her right to go to court but receives a tax free payment and often an agreed reference.

The agreements are entirely voluntary with both sides needing to agree terms but providing the guidance is followed and the employee isn’t placed under duress or threat to sign, the negotiations remain inadmissible in court even if an agreement cannot be reached.

The agreements could be used for example, if there is a personality clash in a department that can’t be resolved by discussion and an employer believes this has an impact on the atmosphere in the workplace, or if an employee is failing to adapt to a new role or has simply stopped enjoying their job it would be open to them to approach the employer and ask to be released on agreed terms.

The advantage of these discussion being confidential is clear in that both parties can discuss matters without the fear that a tribunal will examine what was said and done if an agreement can’t be reached and the matter went to court. The mechanism allows issues to be resolved quickly without unnecessary distress or cost.

As a safeguard the agreement still has to be signed off by an independent lawyer to ensure that there has been no duress and that the deal reached and that there is a genuine agreement.

The changes to parental leave mean that an employee is able to ask for 18 weeks of unpaid leave in the first five years of their child’s life (a maximum of four weeks in any given year) and that the employer cannot refuse unless there is a significant reason why it would disrupt the business. A failure to allow leave without significant reason will leave the business open to a legal action.

The report suggested it was concerning that many SMEs do not realise that they ought to have access to regular updates and advice on employment law developments, as this has become an increasingly technical area, and that as a result they were not either obtaining the potential benefits of changes of practice or even worse were leaving themselves open to unnecessary costly employment disputes.

Is your business up to date with employment law changes?