Legislation

A raft of changes to employment regulations have come in to force with the start of the new tax year - including increases to maternity and sick pay.

Unison is applying for permission to appeal the rejection of its claim for a judicial review of the government's introduction of tribunal fees.

The employment tribunal fee system is under review, says minister for employment relations Jenny Willott, as the government does not want a system that ‘puts people off'.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has welcomed the requirement for employees to pay fees when bringing a claim to tribunal, saying the old regime encouraged a "payoff culture".

One in 10 (11%) organisations using zero-hours contracts adopt exclusivity clauses which seek to prohibit workers from securing employment elsewhere, research finds.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is establishing a pension scheme for fee-paid judges to address the discriminatory remuneration treatment part-time judges have suffered in service since 2000.

One in five (20.7%) FTSE board members are women, an increase from 17.3% in 2013, according to a report conducted by Cranfield University School of Management.

Individuals who have been on a zero-hours contract for at least 12 months should be given the legal right to switch to a fixed hours contract, a thinktank has argued.

The government is backing calls for more public services to be sold off and delivered by private companies owned by employees.

The number of employment tribunal claims has plummeted for the third consecutive quarter, meaning it is "too expensive for individuals to pursue justice", an employment law firm says.