The 1992 Olympic Gold medalist Linford Christie once coined a famous phrase which perfectly summed up the importance of planning. Christie often waxed lyrical about the starting pistol and leaving his blocks 'on the B of the bang'. It was his strategy. His preparation.
The sprinter's legendary claim will undoubtedly be repeated by commentators when the Olympic rings land in London next year, but it's also a phrase that closely mirrors the legal issues faced today by the owners of dental practices up and down the country.
Like Christie, dental practices employing support teams and staff, need a clear strategy to reach their goals and if they don't prepare for the legislative changes, then that finishing line will loom long into the distance.
Here, I focus on those goals and the forthcoming changes to employment legislation which will affect most employers across the UK, including those within the dental sector.
Paternity leave and pay
The new Paternity Leave Regulations are now live and affect the parents of children born on or after April 3, 2011. Those qualifying will be permitted to take the maximum of 26 weeks additional paternity leave prior to the child turning one.
The right to take such leave only applies after one of the parents has returned to work with some statutory maternity leave left untouched.
Additional paternity leave may be available if:
- You are the father of a child due after April 3
- Your partner is pregnant and gives birth after April 3
- You and your partner receive notification that you are matched with a child for adoption on or after April 3
- The child's mother is entitled to statutory maternity leave
There will be strict guidelines surrounding the application for additional paternity leave and any employer must be provided with a variety of information from an employee to enable eligibility for the extra leave to be assessed. As ever, accurate administration is crucial.
Retirement age
Due to the demographic make-up of practice staff, the abolition of the Default Retirement Age (DRA) won't have such an impact on most practice owners. However, it's well worth flagging it up.
Although the DRA will not be scrapped until October, a timetable setting out transitional arrangements has now been published meaning those businesses affected have little time to get to grips with proposals which the Government hopes will encourage people to work for longer.
Practice owners will have two options when dealing with retirement:
- Continue to operate a compulsory retirement age
- If they feel strongly enough, discontinue that policy.
Whatever the conclusion, any employer will be required to give strong justification for employee retirement decisions. Aside from taking legal advice, the early recommendation for practice owners is to take time to review their employee demographics. The first and possibly only question is: who has reached, or is close to, the 65-year-old threshold? Only then can a potential retirement problem be completely discounted or if need be, further advice taken.
Agency workers regulations
New legislation giving more rights to agency staff is being introduced on October 1, 2011 which will change the current landscape. It's a milestone for lobbyists who have campaigned for equal rights.
The regulations will give agency staff, who have completed 12 weeks employment, rights to equal conditions such as:
- annual leave
- pay
- childcare facilities
- job opportunities
The regulations rely heavily on the continuity of the worker's role. This can be affected by sickness, unplanned breaks or even an alteration to a job specification. The regulations have a number of anti-avoidance regulations built in and any misuse could potentially cost a practice owner up to £5k in a tribunal.
It is important for the UK's 17,000 recruitment agencies to begin working in coherence with employers. That's an obvious, logical step but I still predict scores of employers, including those within dentistry, will at some point be reaching out for specialist legal advice in relation to these complex regulations.
Being first out of the blocks will see countless practice owners and managers staying ahead this year. Many have already started their race. It's all about having a strategy in place to face the changes and, like Christie, timing is everything.
The complexities of all legislation I've discussed will need plenty of consideration. Inertia simply isn't an option. That is precisely why dental practice owners and practice managers should not shy away from taking legal advice.