New legislation to look out for in 2013

The key employment legislation changes that will be introduced or that the Government has announced that it intends to introduce in 2013 are:

• Employment tribunal award limits will rise; the limit on the amount of a week's pay increases from £430 to £450 and the maximum compensation award for unfair dismissal goes up from £72,300 to £74,200.
• Unpaid parental leave will increase from 13 to 18 weeks.
• The Government has announced that it intends to reduce the 90-day minimum period for collective redundancy consultation to 45 days.
• Employment tribunal fees are set to be introduced in the summer of 2013. Tribunals will also have the power reimburse fees paid by the successful party.

Other employment legislation that may come into force is the employee shareholder scheme announced in the Budget of March 2012. This scheme, which compensates employees with shares for trading some of their employment rights, has had a luke warm response from business.

Draft tax legislation has also been published which will include the increase in the Annual Investment Allowance for plant and machinery to £250,000 from £25,000 after the Chancellor had reduced it from £100,000 in April 2012. Although not legislation, one to look out for in January is the publication of the High Speed 2 rail route.

Dr Brian Sloan, Chief Economist at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “Employment legislation continues to be a burden for many businesses, employers may feel that the pendulum has swung, as the legislation in the coming year is more focused on the needs of business.

“We have some reservations about the employee shareholder scheme, as it is not clear that we need another bolt on scheme to address weaknesses of current legislation. It could blur the relationship between business ownership, employment status and ultimately the tax position of many people and businesses leading to further complex regulation being introduced.

“It is also worth considering that this coming year will also see the introduction of a General Anti-Abuse Rule for tax avoidance schemes that will increase uncertainty for many businesses and raise concerns about possible investigations by HMRC.”