Employment law is forever being molded and reshaped by Politicians, both UK and European and the Courts and keeping up to date could be a full time occupation . The most recent changes are coming into play today, the 1st of October, effecting the national minimum wage and the right to time off for antenatal appointments.

National Minimum Wage The National Minimum Wage across the board has been increased which is positive news for all those working for NMW. See the current National Minimum Wage below, updated for the 1st October changes.

£6.50 for workers 21 years of age and over £5.13 for workers aged between 18 and 20 years £3.79 for workers aged between 16 and 17 years £2.73 for apprentices under 19 or 19 and over who are in the first year of apprenticeship Right to time off for antenatal appointments Under the Children and Families Act 2014, a new right if being offered to partners of soon to be mothers. The partner of a pregnant mother will be entitled to secure unpaid leave from work to attend two antenatal appointments, each appointment lasting six and a half hours maximum.

There is no length of service requirement, although agency workers must have been with their employer for a minimum of 12 weeks. This right does extend to surrogate parents.

Tribunal alert! Any employer that refuses to grant an eligible employee their antenatal leave, can be taken to an employment tribunal where they may have to pay the employee twice their hourly rate for their requested time out of the office as compensation.

And whilst we are on tribunals, from today Employment Law Tribunals will be given the power to order equal pay audits where there has been a breach of the equal pay provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

Yet more changes will come in December when the right to shared parental leave legislation becomes law.