Workplace experts Acas have warned employers to be prepared for the new National Minimum Wage rates that will come into force on 1st October 2013.

Evidence suggests that companies are struggling to use older workers to their full potential, according to a survey from professional services company Towers Watson.

Only 69% of female workers are confident about their job security compared to nearly three quarters (74%) of male workers, according to the latest findings from Legal & General’s Job Security Index. This figure for women is the lowest it has been since the Index began in January 2012.

Better support for working carers would give businesses and the UK economy a much needed boost and would save taxpayers £1.3 billion a year, according to a recently published report.

New data from CMI (Chartered Management Institute) and salary specialists XpertHR has uncovered the existence of a 50% bonus pay gap, which is aggravating the existing gender pay gap.

A recent study has found evidence of a widening gap between full and part-time workers with regards to their confidence in job security.

The CIPD has recently released initial findings from research conducted into the use of zero hour contracts in the UK.

The TUC has criticised new laws that will force employees to pay upfront fees if they want to pursue a sexual harassment or race discrimination complaint against their employer.

The Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee has written to Business Secretary Vince Cable MP to ask that Government launch a full investigation into blacklisting on Crossrail after apparently hearing compelling evidence that the practice is current and ongoing.

Settlement Agreements - New Term for Compromise Agreements

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS MOVE AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS
By Stephen Smith, Employment Lawyer
A LEAKED paper by civil servants advises that Scotland should reduce its dependence on oil and gas, and instead increase use of renewable energy.
The document, obtained by the BBC, warns of the problems cause by "damaging, price-volatile fossil fuels" and suggests wind power should have a bigger role.
Wind turbines have caused protests across the north of Scotland and the oil industry has disputed previous Government estimates that fossil fuels could be exhausted in the North Sea in the current century.
The paper claims more renewable energy projects in Scotland would help win the battle for these to be accepted elsewhere in the UK.
It also reveals the Scottish government would like to maintain a UK-wide energy market after independence, rather than separate Scottish regulator being created – an important issue for oil companies.
The document says: "The shared regulation of a single GB-wide energy market, by the new Scottish regulator and the England and Wales regulator, presents the best approach for an independent Scotland.
"An independent Scotland will seek a new strategic energy partnership with the rest of the UK - a partnership of equals - where the UK and Scottish governments jointly steer policy towards the energy sector."
The document also claims renewable energy projects have more public support in Scotland than other parts of the UK.
"Higher levels of public acceptance of renewable energy developments in Scotland, including onshore wind, helps other parts of the UK, where public acceptance is more polarised," the document says.
"The transition to renewable energy reduces our dependence on damaging, price volatile fossil fuels, bringing greater stability in energy prices for consumers."

The income from offshore oil and gas will be less than expected over the next generation, according to an official report released today.
The funds generated for the British taxpayer from companies based in Aberdeen will decline over the next 25 years, economic forecasters have warned.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the total amount the UK could expect from taxation from the industry between 2018 and 2041 was £56bn, down from a previous prediction of £67bn.
The OBR says long-term projection shows revenues falling from the current level of 0.7% of all UK economic activity to just 0.03% over the subsequent two decades.
The decline is due to a lower estimate of where oil prices will be by 2040/41. The OBR says that they will go down from the $173 per barrel it calculated last year to $150.
The figures also take account of a decline in oil production at a rate of 5% per year, which would be slower than the 7.8% a year on average since 1999.
In response to the forecasts, a spokeswoman for the Scottish government said Scotland's oil and gas sector was "going from strength to strength", with investment in the North Sea projected to reach a record £13bn in 2013 while planned total investment by companies was worth about £100bn.
A spokeswoman said: "There are estimated to be up to 24 billion barrels of oil remaining with a potential wholesale value of £1.5 trillion remaining in the North Sea which means, by value, more than half of North Sea oil and gas resources have still be to be extracted.
"The OBR's central forecast is cautious and relies on both production and price forecasts below the levels assumed by industry and other independent bodies.”
*Aberdeen Employment Law advised the oil and gas sector on contractual issues. Contact us on 01224 370 228 complete our online enquiry form.

The Government has set out new protections for law-abiding businesses and further progress on Business Minister Michael Fallon’s war on pointless red tape in its latest six-monthly Statement of New Regulation.

North Sea Wages on the Increase

Employment law solicitors can never rest easy as their chosen area of law is one that is constantly changing, on a weekly if not daily basis. Tribunal decisions and Employment Appeal Tribunal decisions are delivered daily and can have massive consequences to employment law cases throughout the UK. Legislative changes on top of this change the law and again these changes can dramatically alter the employer-employee relationship. 2013 will again prove to be no exception and our employment lawyers at Employment Law Aberdeen constantly monitor such changes to ensure that our advice is up to date, relevant and the best that we can provide.

Welcome to the latest news section of Employment Law Aberdeen. Our solicitors will keep you updated with newsworthy items realting to employment law and how it may affect you. We will also keep you advised of employment law stories or issues that affect Aberdeen in particular and the North East in general.