• Clarity that the ‘initial period of employment’ for the purposes of  qualification for considering claims of unfair dismissal will be between 3 and 9 months ( so in effect the new 'day one' right to claim unfair dismissal will be subject to a probationary period of between 3 and 9 months during which the right will not apply)

• Support for employees with menstrual problems and disorders has been added to the definition of “matters related to gender equality” which employers may be required to produce equality action plans on. This is in addition to the current proposals to provide for increased obligations for larger employers for gender pay gap reporting and supporting employees going through the menopause

• an extension of the limitation period for bringing an employment Tribunal claim from three months to six, with many claimants waiting more than a year to get to a full hearing, the need to put a claim in within a three-month period is hard to justify, time will tell if the extension will lead to an increase in claims overall
• a clause that renders void non-disclosure agreements that prevent workers from making disclosures about sexual or other forms of harassment
• a clause prohibiting the use of substitution clauses in agreements between (a) an employer or a contractor of services, and (b) an employee, worker or dependent contractor which if implemented in full, it could have an impact on any outsourced services that businesses use

The amendment document will now enter the Committee stage to prompt debate and  it is likely some amendments  will be withdrawn, with Government amendments most likely to be passed.

Update 21st October

To coincide with the Second Reading of the Employment Rights Bill, the government has launched a number of related consultations:

Consultation on creating a modern framework for industrial relations

Consultation on the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers

Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay

Consultation on strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire

All consultations close on 2nd December 2024, except the consultation on Statutory Sick Pay which closes on 4th December 2024

---

Update 10th October

On 10 October the Employment Rights Bill was published, it will now be subject to the usual Parliamentary process, with debates and amendments put forward in both the Lords and the Commons before the Bill is granted Royal Assent.

In addition, the Bill will require a substantial amount of consultation over the details of the secondary legislation required to implement the Bill’s provisions.  The majority of the changes will not take place before 2026.

The aim of the changes is to 'tip the balance' of the employment relationship enhancing fairness for employees.   Compared to previous developments in employment law some of these changes are radical and will result in the need to review and update existing HR policies and procedures and and create new ones to ensure compliance over the coming years.

Main changes introduced by the bill include:

Day-one rights

The Bill introduces a  ‘Day one’ right for employees to claim unfair dismissal. This will subject to a statutory probationary period (an ‘initial period of employment’) for new hires, during which time employers will be able to terminate employment without following a full process. Details of how this will work will be set out in separate Regulations and the length of the probationary period will be consulted upon (the Government is currently proposing a period of nine months).

The Bill also introduces day one rights to paternity leave, unpaid parental leave and a new statutory (paid) bereavement leave, based on the existing statutory right to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

Rights to receive SSP are amended under the Bill, removing the current three-day waiting period and meaning that SSP will be payable from the first day of absence. The existing Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) for qualifying for SSP, currently £123 per week, will also be removed. The Government will consult on the appropriate rate of SSP for those earning below the current weekly rate.

Flexible working

Employees will have a strengthened right to work on a flexible basis, but it remains a right to request flexible working. Employers will still have the ability to refuse a flexible working pattern on the specified statutory grounds, provided it notifies the employee of the grounds for refusal and that it is reasonable to refuse on that basis.

Right to a stable contract

Following the government’s manifesto commitment to end “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, the Bill introduces a new right to a guaranteed-hours contract for those who work regular hours over a 12-week reference period, with provision for reference review periods if hours become regular over a longer period of time. Workers who want to remain on zero-hours contracts will be able to do so.

The Bill also provides for workers on zero and low hours contracts to be given ‘reasonable notice’ of changes in shifts or working time, with compensation for shifts cancelled or curtailed at short notice.

Fire and rehire

The Bill provides for ‘fire and rehire’ (dismissal and re-engagement) to be added to the list of reasons constituting an ‘automatic’ unfair dismissal, other than in very limited circumstances when a business has no alternative due to financial circumstances affecting the employer’s ability to carry on the business as a going concern.

In addition, the Bill amends the existing provisions under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 relating to collective redundancy (affecting 20 or more employees) and the obligation to collectively consult with employees. These provisions will no longer apply to proposed redundancies at ‘one establishment’, meaning that the obligations will potentially be much more onerous for employers seeking to make redundancies over multiple workplaces.

Protection during pregnancy and after family leave

Pregnant women and new parents will have strengthened protections against dismissal, for six months after returning to work from a period of family leave. This will be subject to separate regulations that will prevent dismissals of these employees other than in specific circumstances.

Increased harassment protection

Amendments to the Equality Act 2010 under the Bill will introduce express protection from third party harassment and strengthen the forthcoming employer duty to prevent sexual harassment (in force from 26 October 2024). Employers will be required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment, rather than ‘reasonable steps’ as currently provided. Sexual harassment will also be added to the list of protected disclosures, under existing whistleblowing provisions.

Action on gender pay and menopause

Under the Bill, large employers (likely 250+ employees) are required to produce action plans to address their gender pay gaps and to support employees through the menopause. 

Pay

The Bill also includes powers to reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

Trade unions

The Bill provides for the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. It will also bring in additional protections for trade union members and extensive measures to simplify the statutory recognition process, as well as a new right of access for union officials to meet, represent, recruit and organise members in the workplace. Employers must provide workers with a written statement of their trade union rights along with their statement of employment particulars.

Fair Work Agency

A new Fair Work Agency will bring together existing enforcement functions to enforce employment rights and to support employers in compliance.

Additional proposals for reform, not included in the Bill, are set out within the ‘Next Steps’ document, including:

• Employment status – the Government plans to consult on moving towards a single status of ‘worker’ and transitioning towards a two-part framework for employment status, differentiating between workers and the genuinely self-employed
• A right to switch off, under a statutory Code of Practice, to prevent employees being contacted out of hours other than in exceptional circumstances
• A review of the existing parental leave and carers’ leave systems
• A separate Bill (the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill) to introduce new mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers and extending equal pay rights to include race and disability.

Equality (Race and Disability) Bill

Last updated 6th December 2024

Views were discussed on the Employment Rights Bill and wider Plan to Make Work Pay.

As part of its Make Work Pay plan, the Government has committed to:

• Ban exploitative zero hours contracts
• End fire and rehire
• Introduce basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal
• Strengthen the collective voice of workers, including through their trade unions, and create a Single Enforcement Body to ensure employment rights are upheld
• Make sure the minimum wage is a genuine living wage by changing the remit of the independent Low Pay Commission so for the first time it accounts for the cost of living
• Remove the discriminatory age bands, so all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage, delivering a pay rise to hundreds of thousands of workers across the UK

During the recent state opening of Parliament and the King's Speech, the Government gave further information about its Employment Rights Bill, which will make wide-ranging and radical changes to employment law in the coming years. In advance of the publication of the full detail of the Employment Rights Bill, here is a summary of the main areas that will affect HR policies and procedures.

Protection from Unfair dismissal to become a day 1 right

Perhaps the area which will have the most significant practical impact is the removal of the two-year service requirement to bring an unfair dismissal claim. Making protection from unfair dismissal available from day 1 (subject to special rules for probationary periods) is expected to be included in the Employment Rights Bill.

How quickly the Government will implement this change remains to be seen. The removal of the qualifying period from the Employment Rights Act 1996 can be achieved relatively easily via secondary legislation - an Act of Parliament is not needed.

However, the Government may choose to accompany this change with non-statutory guidance or a more formal statutory code of practice setting out a minimum fair procedure for employers to follow before they can dismiss an employee during their probationary period. This would extend the time needed to implement this reform.

Parental leave and sick pay to become a day 1 right

It is expected that the Employment Rights Bill will make parental leave and sick pay available from day 1 (subject to special rules for probationary periods).

Strengthening protection for new mothers

It is also expected that the Employment Rights Bill will make it unlawful to dismiss a person who has had a baby for six months after their return to work, except in specific circumstances.

More reforms to flexible working laws

 Under the previous Government, reforms to the right to request flexible working took effect for requests made on or after 6 April 2024. These included:

• making the statutory right to request flexible working a "day one" right;
• removing the requirement for an employee to explain what effect, if any, their request would have on the employer and how that might be dealt with; and
• placing an obligation on an employer to consult with an employee before rejecting a request.

 The Government has indicated that it intends to use the Employment Rights Bill to make more radical changes to flexible working laws. It says that it will "make flexible working the default from day one for all workers, with employers required to accommodate this as far as is reasonable".  The shape that these reforms will take remains to be seen - the proposals set out in the King's Speech are light on detail.

 Procedural changes to SSP

 Some technical changes to statutory sick pay (SSP) are expected to be introduced in the Employment Rights Bill.  These include:

• removing the requirement for earnings to be at the lower earnings limit as an eligibility criterion; and
• removing the three-day waiting period (where SSP is not paid for the first three "waiting days" in a period of incapacity for work).

 Improved relations with trade unions

 When it comes to employment issues, it is already clear that one of the priorities will be the improvement of relations between trade unions and the Government.

The Employment Rights Bill will include measures to:

• remove the requirement where strikes take place in "relevant services", such as education, ambulance and fire and rescue services, to maintain minimum service levels (MSLs); and
• simplify the statutory trade union recognition process to "ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces".

 Zero hours contracts - plans remain unclear

 The Government says that it will use the Employment Rights Bill to "ensure workers have a right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work and that all workers get reasonable notice of any changes in shift with proportionate compensation for any shifts cancelled or curtailed".  This wording suggests that the Government intends to take a targeted approach to removing unfair zero hours contacts, rather than banning them outright.

 We will find out more about the approach in this area once the full detail of the Employment Rights Bill is published.

 A separate Bill for Ethnicity/disability pay gap reporting

 The proposals to require employers with 250 or more employees to report their ethnicity pay gap and disability pay gap are not included in the Employment Rights Bill. Instead, these proposals get a separate Bill.  Implementation will raise tricky issues for employers around classifying employees' ethnicity/disability, gathering the data and processing the data safely.

As well as introducing ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill is expected to give specific rights to claim equal pay because of the protected characteristics of race and disability. 

 Other proposals outlined in the Kings speech

• Ending ‘fire and rehire’ and ‘fire and replace’ by reforming the law and replacing the statutory code. It is expected that there will be a new code of practice and legal reform (although we don’t know how yet)
• Establishing a new single enforcement body, known as the Fair Work Agency, to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights.
• A new Skills England body will be set up which puts ‘employment at its heart’
• The apprenticeship levy will be reformed to provide for better training and upskilling opportunities as people are working for longer before retiring.
• A new Pension Schemes Bill will help average earners save more than £11K more in their pension

Next steps

Publication of the full detail of the Employment Rights Bill

 

• The briefing notes that support the King's Speech stress the Government’s plan to publish the full text of the Employment Rights Bill in the first 100 days in power.
• This means that, if the Government sticks to this timetable, the Employment Rights Bill will be published by 12 October at the latest.

Expect a long lead-in time for many of the proposals

While the Government's large majority should make it easier to get legislation through Parliament, many of the proposals in the Employment Rights Bill will need public consultation.

In particular, there is likely to be consultation on the detailed secondary legislation and/or non-statutory government guidance/statutory codes of practice necessary to implement some of the more substantial changes, including:

• the removal of the two-year service requirement to bring an unfair dismissal claim, which will mean that schools will have to review how they induct, train and manage new recruits and how they deal with employees who are not performing during their probationary period;
• "making flexible working the default from day one for all workers, with employers required to accommodate this as far as is reasonable", which goes significantly further than the flexible working reforms introduced by the previous Government on 6 April 2024; and
• the introduction of mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for larger organisations, which adds significant complexity to the current pay gap reporting regime.

 The complexity of many of the proposals, the time required for the Bill's passage through Parliament, and the need for public consultation all mean that we are unlikely to see most of the major legal changes introduced before 2026 at the earliest.

 

  Relevance: All settings 

The weekly rates that apply from April 2025 to statutory maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and bereavement pay, as well as statutory sick pay are as follows:

	Weekly rate/limit from April 2025
Statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance,    paternity pay, shared parental pay and adoption pay	£187.18 (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate)
Statutory parental bereavement pay	£187.18
Statutory sick pay	£118.75
Earnings threshold	£125.00

Last updated: 26th November 2024

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The hourly rates that apply from  1 April 2025 are  as follows:

	Hourly rate  from April 1 2025
For workers age >21	£12.21
For workers age 18 but <21	£10
For workers age 16-17	£7.55
Apprentice Rate	£7.55

Last updated: 6th December 2024

  Relevance: All settings 

From 6 April 2025 the rate of employer national insurance contributions (NICs) increases from 13.8% to 15%. 

The secondary threshold, at which employers become liable to pay NICs reduces from £9,100 to £5,000 until 5 April 2028. After this date the threshold will be uprated in line with the Consumer Price Index.

The employment allowance, which entitles employers to claim money off their liability for employer NICs, increases from £5,000 to £10,500 and the £100,000 eligibility threshold for employment allowance is removed.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

On 25th May 2023 Royal Assent was received for The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act.

The Bill, when enacted, will allow parents to take up to 12 weeks' paid leave if their baby requires neonatal care after birth most likely in cases where care is required for a week or more, in the first 28 days and up to the first 68 weeks of the child’s life.  

The right to neonatal care leave will be a statutory day one right. However, the right to statutory neonatal care pay will require 26 weeks of continuous service and earnings on average of £123 a week (£125 a week from 6 April 2025). 

Many of the provisions of the bill are still being drafted. Issues such as what happens when weeks of neonatal care are separated, the type of care that falls under the act, and the terms when more than one child is in neonatal care, are still to be addressed.  

Expected to be implemented in April 2025.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

Under the Employment Rights Bill the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, which provides for minimum service levels to be in place during any period of strike action in certain services is due to come into effect when the Bill receives Royal Assent, which is expected to be in 2025.

Other provisions are due to come into effect two months after the Bill receives Royal Assent including:

• repeal of the changes to industrial action ballots introduced by the Trade Union Act 2016, which would mean:
  • unions requiring only a simple majority of those voting to have a mandate for industrial action (with no requirement for any level of turnout or support threshold);
  • not having to summarise the issues in dispute to which the proposed industrial action relates; and
  • unions having to give seven days' notice of industrial action, instead of the current 14 days;
• removal of conditions that were introduced in May 2024 to the check-off process in the public sector;
• removal of the requirement on public-sector employers to publish details relating to facility time; and
• strengthened protection against blacklisting.

The Bill also allows for the introduction of electronic balloting for industrial action. This may be implemented in 2025.

Phase two of the reform of trade union laws is expected to be implemented at a later date.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 24th May 2024 and is expected to become an Act soon.

The Act provides for a right to extended paternity leave for bereaved fathers or partners. Although not currently set out in the legislation, the intention is that the right would provide 52 weeks of leave during the first year of their child’s life, from the day on which the mother or primary adopter of the child died. It would be a day-one right i.e. there would be no need to have 26 weeks’ service to qualify for the leave. The right would also apply to the surviving parents of children born through surrogacy arrangements. 

Regulations would also be able to be made under the Act which would provide the ability to take KIT days during leave and enhanced redundancy protection to those who return to work from extended paternity leave. 

The Government has indicated that there would be no entitlement to statutory pay for those who take extended paternity leave as it believes statutory pay should only be available to employees who meet continuity of service and minimum earnings tests.

The Act was supported by the Labour Party as it passed through Parliament under the previous Conservative Government, however the Labour Government has not yet announced a timetable for bringing the measures into force.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

The Fertility Treatment ( Employment Rights) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons in November 2022.  It requires employers to allow employees a statutory right to take time off from work for appointments for fertility treatment. The Bill also allows an employee who has a “qualifying relationship” with a person receiving fertility treatment to take unpaid time off work to accompany the person to the appointments. 

An employee would have the right not to be subjected to any detriment by any act, or any deliberate failure to act, by their employer in connection with their right to take time off work to attend fertility treatment appointments. If an employee is dismissed for attending these appointments, it would be regarded as an unfair dismissal.

Several large UK employers have signed the Pledge which means they will:

• Implement a workplace fertility policy to increase transparency and reduce the stigma surrounding fertility issues;
• Appoint a fertility ambassador to encourage open conversations and promote internal support;
• Provide training for line managers to improve their understanding of the physical, emotional and financial impacts of fertility treatment; and
• Give staff the right to request flexible working so that they can attend fertility clinic appointments. 

The Bill is at present in the early stages of the parliamentary process so it will likely be some time before it passes into law.

The Bill's passage was delayed by the General Election in July 2024. The Bill was not referenced in the Kings Speech during the State opening of Parliament later that month so it will likely continue it's passage 'when parliamentary time allows'.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

Relevance: All settings 

Legislation: TBC

In July 2019 the Government published its response to consultation on preventing the misuse of confidentiality clauses in the workplace. This was undertaken chiefly as a response to certain cases where employers had used such clauses to prevent victims of harassment or discrimination from speaking out. As a result, the Government has committed to:

• legislating so that no provision in a confidentiality clause can prevent disclosures to the police, regulated health and care professionals and legal professionals;
• legislating so that limitations in confidentiality clauses are clearly set out in employment contracts and settlement agreements;
• producing guidance for solicitors and legal professionals responsible for drafting settlement agreements;
• legislating to enhance the independent legal advice received by individuals signing confidentiality clauses;
• enforcement measures for confidentiality clauses that do not comply with legal requirements in written statements of employment particulars and settlement agreements.

Legislation is expected as soon as “Parliamentary time allows”. Guidance has already been produced at the request of the government by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (October 2019) and ACAS (February 2020).

There have been no further updates on when, or whether, these proposals will be taken forwards. We will publish further advice when more is known.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

 Relevance: All settings 

Legislation: TBC

As part of the government’s 2018 Good Work Plan, the period of time required to break an employee’s continuous service is due to increase from one week to four weeks. The aim is to make it easier for employees who work intermittently over a period of time to access statutory rights.

We do not yet know when these proposals will be taken forwards.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

Relevance: All settings 

Legislation: TBC

As part of the Good Work Plan, workers who undertake irregular hours who would like more certainty will be able to request a more fixed working pattern from their employer after 26 weeks of service.

The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023  received royal assent in 2023 . The act was designed to give workers, including agency workers and zero hours workers, the right to request more predictable terms and conditions, including the right to request a predictable working pattern.

On 5 September 2024, it was confirmed that the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023, was ‘cancelled’.

Under the Employment Rights Bill the right to request a more stable contract has been replaced with the right to be offered guaranteed hours.

Last updated: 6th December 2024

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 29 June 2023. The Government had previously made significant changes to its approach to the legislation, reducing the scope of the proposed reforms and the immediate impact on HR.

Any retained EU law was due to end on 31 December 2023, unless new legislation was introduced to keep it. The Government previously confirmed it will amend the Bill in order to provide more certainty for businesses.

Retained EU law will no longer automatically be revoked' at the end of this year. Instead, a new schedule lists some 600 pieces of legislation which will now be removed, including regulations on things such as air pollution, food, the environment and energy. No key pieces of employment law will be removed under the schedule.   

However, the Bill retains power that make it easier for the Government to amend any retained EU law that is not revoked. In addition, the provisions as to how previous EU case law is to be treated also remain in the Bill, which may well impact on the courts’ interpretation of  employment law in future cases.  

Last updated: 21st December 2023

  Relevance: Employers with at least 250 staff on the snapshot date 

Public sector organisations within scope of gender pay gap reporting must publish their report by 30th March each year (for the private and voluntary sectors the report deadline is 4th April).

For more on gender pay gap reporting, see our Equality Diversity & Inclusion pages.

Last updated: 10th June 2024

  Relevance: All public sector bodies with more than 49 FTE employees 

Reports on facility time usage must be submitted by 31st July each year, covering the year from April to March.

Quick Summary of Reporting Requirement:

The local authority is responsible for reporting in respect of its community and voluntary controlled schools and PRUs (but schools may have to provide information to the LA about local union representatives).

Subject to the minimum size requirement*, other public sector bodies in the education sector also have to report, including the governing bodies of voluntary aided and foundation schools, academy trusts, FE and HE institutions.

* Size requirement: employer must have had more than 49 FTE employees in at least 7 of the 12 months included in the reporting period (April to March) and at least one trade union representative during that time.

More detail on facility time reporting is available within the Trade Union Facility Time Reporting pages.

Last updated: 10th June 2024

  Relevance: Public bodies with 250 or more staff (FE colleges and universities are out of scope) 

Public sector apprenticeships target 1 April 2022 onwards:

The public sector apprenticeships target is coming to an end on 31 March 2022. From this date there will no longer be a target set for public sector employers.

Public sector employers who are currently required to report against the public sector apprenticeships target are asked to continue to gather, and later report:

new apprenticeship starts
total number of apprentices
organisational headcount

The government will publish this data annually to support transparency and external accountability, and help maintain the momentum public sector employers have built up once the current statutory target ends.

More information on the public sector targets and reporting requirement is available here.

Last updated: 10th June 2024

Changes that came into effect on 1 January 2024 :

New Statutory Definition of ‘normal pay’ for the purposes of calculating holiday pay in legislation

Holiday entitlement consists of 4 weeks (derived from EU law and 1.6 weeks derived from the UK Working Time Regulations). Prior to 1 January 2024 the additional 1.6 weeks’ WTR leave, holiday pay only needs to be paid at the basic rate of pay, unless the employment contract provides otherwise.

Under the regulations 'normal pay, for calculating holiday pay' based on the 1.6 weeks WTR leave is defined as:

The definition is broadly in line with what is already required under case law. Most employers should not need to make any substantial changes.

Many schools already apply a ‘normal’ rate across the total 5.6-week holiday entitlement because of the administrative burden and costs of operating two different calculation methods.

If you currently operate a basic rate calculation method for that 1.6 week’s holiday you will need to change that to a ‘normal’ rate calculation if you choose to use rolled-up holiday pay.

Carry-Over of Holiday for Family-Related and Long-Term Sick Leave/ Carry-Over of Untaken Leave:

EU case law currently provides the right to carry over any unused holiday (derived from the 4 weeks entitlement under the EU Working Time Directive) from one leave year to the next where a worker has been unable to take it due to various reasons, including where an employer has failed to provide holiday rights, or the employee has been on sick leave. These rights are preserved by amending the UK Working Time Regulations with effect from 1 January 2024. No action is required by employers.

Where a worker cannot take any of their 4 weeks’ holiday derived from the EU Working Time Directive as a result of taking sick leave/family related leave they may carry it over into the following leave year, provided it is taken within 18 months from the end of the leave year in which it was accrued

Simplifying WTR record keeping requirements

Regulations re-affirm only those existing requirements under the Working Time Regulations to keep ‘adequate records’ and introduces the new requirement for an employer may keep such records as it “reasonably thinks fit”.

Employers don’t need to record each worker’s daily working hours if they can show compliance with the requirements without doing so.

Removal of COVID carry over of holiday

The Regulations revoke the 2020 Regulations with effect from 1 January 2024. However, where a worker has such untaken leave to take, they will be able to retain it but must take it in the period up to and including 31 March 2024.

Ensure you inform any affected employees that any leave untaken due to COVID must be taken by 31 March 2024.

You can find a detailed summary of the changes due in January 2024 here.

Last updated: 10th June  2024

Changes to holiday pay have been implemented under the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 for holiday years starting on or after 1 April 2024.

Changes that came into effect on 1 April 2024 :

• Introduction of holiday entitlement accrual for irregular hours and part-year workers. Statutory annual leave entitlement will accrue at 12.07% of hours worked in a pay period

• Rolled-up holiday pay, previously unlawful under EU law, is now permitted for irregular-hours workers and part-year workers. Employers can choose to implement rolled-up holiday pay, calculated at 12.07% of the worker's earnings during the pay period, paid alongside regular wages

• Ensure holiday accrual is calculated at the end of each pay period, at the rate of 12.07% based on the number of hours worked during that pay period
• For part-year workers on maternity/family-related leave:
  • employers can use the new 52-week reference period (including weeks not worked and not on statutory or sick leave) to calculate hours worked and then the holiday entitlement for the period of leave
  • The resulting holiday entitlement will be proportionate to the hours worked when not on statutory or sick leave
  • Employers can calculate holiday pay for that pro-rata leave, using a  52-week reference period, but discounting weeks when no pay was payable to the worker, or when they were on statutory or sick leave.

Actions required Rolled-Up Holiday Pay for Irregular Hours workers and Part Year Workers:

• Rolled-up pay will be based on 12.07% of normal pay for all 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday entitlement. 
• If you currently operate a basic rate calculation method for 1.6 week’s holiday you will need to change that to a ‘normal’ rate calculation if you chose to use rolled-up holiday pay.  
• Many schools already apply a ‘normal’ rate across the total 5.6-week holiday entitlement because of the administrative burden and costs of operating two different calculation methods. 

You can find a detailed summary of the changes that came into effect in April 2024 here.

The government has produced non-statutory guidance for employers which includes a range of useful calculations: Holiday Pay and Entitlement Reforms.

Last updated: 10th June 2024.

The Government has implemented National Minimum Wage rates from 1 April 2024, including the National Living Wage.

The National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.8% for those aged 21 and over from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour,  an increase of £1.02.  Higher percentage increases apply to those under 21 years of age and apprentices.  The increase in the NLW will achieve the target first set by the Government in 2019 – with the NLW  equal to two-thirds of median hourly pay for those aged 21 and over. In addition, from April 2024 the NLW was extended to 21 and 22-year-olds for the first time. 

Below is a summary of the new rates that came into effect on 1 April 2024.

	NMW from 1 April 2024	Increase in £	% increase
National Living Wage (21 and over)	£   11.44	£     1.02	9.8%
18-20 Year Old Rate	£     8.60	£     1.11	14.8%
16-17 Year Old Rate	£     6.40	£     1.12	21.2%
Apprentice Rate	£     6.40	£     1.12	21.2%

On 10 January 2024, the draft Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 were laid before Parliament. The draft Regulations amend the current legislation to make it more flexible by allowing eligible fathers or partners to:

• split their leave into two blocks of one week (current entitlement is to take either one week's leave or two consecutive weeks' leave);
• take their leave and pay at any point in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child (currently leave must be taken within the first eight weeks); and
• adjust the way they give notice of leave and pay to their employer with notice of intention to take leave being provided 15 weeks prior to the expected week of childbirth, and then four weeks prior to each period of leave.

The draft Regulations are due to came into force on 8 March 2024, and take effect in relation to children whose expected week of childbirth, or date of placement for adoption, is on or after 6 April 2024.

Last updated: 10th June 2024

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  Relevance: All settings 

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill passed into law in July 2023. On 11 December 2023, the Government published the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 amending the Flexible Working Regulations 2014.  The new  regulations came into force on 6 April 2024.

The changes include:

•  The right to request flexible working from day one of employment
• An employee is allowed to make two applications (rather than one) for a flexible pattern of work during any 12-month period
• Employees are no longer be required to explain what effect, if any, their flexible working request would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with
• It is a requirement for an employer to consult with the employee about their flexible working application before refusing it
• The employer has to notify the employee of its decision about their flexible working application within two (rather than three) months

There will be no change to the eight statutory reasons employers may use to refuse a request for flexible working. These are as follows:

• The burden of additional costs
• Detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand (e.g., pupils/parents)
• Inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff
• Inability to recruit additional staff
• Detrimental impact on quality 
• Detrimental impact on performance
• Insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work
• Planned structural changes

Last updated: 10th June 2024

  Relevance: All settings 

 On 25th May 2023 Royal Assent was received for The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act, and The Carer’s Leave Act.

Family-friendly regulations are came into effect on 6 April 2024.

Carer's leave

The government consulted in 2020 on proposals to give employees who are carers a week of unpaid leave each year for the purpose of undertaking their caring responsibilities. The response to consultation was published on 23rd September 2021.

The Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 came into force on 6 April 2024. 

Eligible carers are entitled to the right from day one of employment to take unpaid leave with eligibility depending on the carer's relationship with the individual requiring care. The scope of eligibility is very similar to that which is used to determine the right to time off for dependants. It covers:

• A spouse / civil partner
• A child
• A parent
• A person living in the same household as the employee, other than as an employee, tenant, lodger or boarder
• Someone else who reasonably relies on the employee for care.

The person being cared for must also have a long-term care need, subject to certain exemptions. Employees will not be required to provide evidence of their eligibility or of the care needs of the individual.

A person has a long-term care need if:

• they have an illness or injury (whether physical or mental) that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months
• they have a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, or
• they require care for a reason connected with their old age

Eligible employees are able to take up to one week (5 working days) of unpaid leave per year. The leave can be taken flexibly, either in individual days or half-days, up to a block of one week. The employee must give notice of at least twice the length of the time being requested plus one day (so the notice required to take one day's carer's leave would be three days, for example). There is a limited right to postpone the leave in exceptional circumstances to avoid disruption to the business. Any concerns over unreasonable requests will need to be objectively justified. 

For the purposes of carer’s leave, a week is the period of time that an employee is normally required to work during a week (running Monday to Sunday) under their contract. Where this varies, a week is calculated by dividing by 52 the total amount of time normally required to be worked over the 12 months ending with the last day of the carer’s leave requested.

Notice

When an employee wants to take any of their carer’s leave entitlement, they must give their employer a notice setting out the fact that they are entitled to carer’s leave and have not exhausted their entitlement. The notice must specify the times that they wish to take this leave and must be provided before the ‘relevant date’. This will be the date that falls either twice as many days as the amount of leave requested before the first day of leave or three days before, depending on which is earlier.

Postponing leave

An employer cannot require the employee to provide evidence about entitlement in relation to a request before granting the leave.

An employer who reasonably believes that the operation of their business would be unduly disrupted if the employee took the leave requested can postpone the leave. The employer must consult with the employee as to the date to which the leave will be  postponed. This must be no later than one month after the first day of the leave period originally requested. The employer must then give the employee a notice setting out the reason for the postponement and the agreed new date(s) for the leave. This notice must be provided as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than whichever is the earlier of seven days after the employee’s notice was given to the employer or before the first date in that notice.

An employee will be able to make a claim for compensation to an employment tribunal if their employer unreasonably postpones a period of carer’s leave or prevents or attempts to prevent them from taking it.

Protection from detriment and unfair dismissal

An employee will be protected from detrimental treatment by the employer due to the fact that they took, sought to take or the employer believed that they were likely to take, carer’s leave. An employee who is dismissed or selected for redundancy for these reasons will be able to claim automatic unfair dismissal.

Contractual rights 

If an employer currently provides a similar right to statutory carer’s leave, the employee is not entitled to exercise both rights separately, but is entitled to a composite of the two and to take advantage of the more favourable contractual provisions when exercising the statutory right.

Extension of redundancy protection - Pregnancy & Family Leave

In July 2019, the Government published its response to consultation on extending redundancy protection for women and new parents.

Women on maternity leave (as well as those on adoption and shared parental leave) already have special protection in a redundancy situation, meaning that employers have an obligation to offer suitable alternative employment where it exists, in preference to others at risk of redundancy.

Summary of changes:

Pregnant women who are not on maternity leave will be protected during the pregnancy. This applies when a woman has informed her employer of her pregnancy on or after 6 April 2024. If a woman miscarries or gives birth to a stillborn child before 24 weeks then she will be protected for 2 weeks after the pregnancy ends.  Women whose maternity leave ends on or after 6 April 2024 will benefit from protection throughout maternity leave and then for the remainder of the 18-month period after the date of childbirth.

Employees on adoption leave that ends on or after 6 April 2024 will benefit from protection throughout adoption leave and then for the remainder of the 18-month period after the date of placement.

Employees who take a period of Shared Parental Leave of 6 weeks or more beginning on 6 April 2024 or later, will be protected not only during the Shared Parental Leave but for 18 months from the date of childbirth or placement.

Schools will want to be particularly mindful of the impact these changes could have on any imminent redundancy exercises.

Last updated: 10th June 2024

  Relevance: All settings 

The weekly rates that apply from 7th April 2024 to statutory maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and bereavement pay, as well as statutory sick pay are as follows:

	Weekly rate/limit from April 2024
Statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance,    paternity pay, shared parental pay and adoption pay	£184.03 (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings if this figure is less than the statutory rate)
Statutory parental bereavement pay	£184.03
Statutory sick pay	£116.75
Earnings threshold	£123.00
Redundancy- Cap on a Statutory Week’s Pay	£700

Changes to TUPE consultation requirements for transfers taking place on or after 1 July 2024.

TUPE consultation requirements, currently, there is a requirement to elect employee representatives for consultation on a TUPE transfer where appropriate representatives are not in place already & businesses cannot consult employees directly about TUPE transfers. The consultation confirms that this requirement will be removed in certain circumstances.  Firstly where the business has fewer than 50 employees, this is irrespective of the size of the transfer and effectively extends the current exception for micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees.  Secondly, there will be no need to elect TUPE representatives where the proposed transfer involves fewer than 10 employees, again this will be irrespective of the size of the business.

Last updated: 10th June 2024

The Government has previously consulted on a new Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement. The draft Code has been in progress for over a year now, having first been announced in early 2023. Following consultation, an updated version was published in March this year, with plans confirmed for it to be in effect from 18 July 2024. 

However, in a related development, a draft of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amendment of Schedule A2) Order 2024, has been laid before Parliament. The Order adds a protective award (which apply in cases where an employer has breached the consultation requirements for collective redundancies) to the list of awards which can be increased by 25% in the event that an employer is also found to have breached a relevant statutory Code of Practice. It is expected that this Order is due to come into force on the same day as the Code is expected to come into force. The date for commencement of the Order is 18 July 2024. 

Last updated: 10th June 2024

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has launched a consultation on the revised Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations. This update incorporates developments in case law, technical guidance on age discrimination, and recent legal interpretations, such as those relating to single-sex services and the definition of disability under the Equality Act. The consultation aims to gather feedback on the clarity of the updated code, ensuring it is accessible for service providers, legal advisers, and public bodies, helping them navigate equality laws. The consultation is open until 3 January 2025.

Last updated: 3rd October 2024

Changes to workplace discrimination laws will follow the introduction of the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill , a Private Member’s Bill that was passed on 26 October 2023. Its main provisions will come into force a year later on 26 October 2024. This Bill places a proactive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment of their employees, with the possibility of increased compensation if they fail to do so.

The Labour Government said that it intends to require employers to "maintain workplaces...free from harassment, including by third parties" and that it will strengthen the duty to prevent sexual harassment. The detail of these additional measures, and when they will be brought into effect, is not yet known.

On 26th September, the EHRC updated its guidance on sexual harassment and has included information on the new preventative duty. The EHRC's guidance states that the preventative duty also requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their staff by third parties, such as clients, customers, contractors and freelancers. However, while the preventative duty includes third-party harassment, the Act does not give employees the right to bring a stand-alone claim in the employment tribunal for third-party harassment. You can read the EHRC guidance here

Last updated: 1st October 2024