It’s officially Autumn with Halloween this month!
Labour has delivered on its promise to publish its Employment Rights Bill within the first 100 days in government:
The Bill itself is not expected to pass into law until June or July next year.
Day 1 right: The government has specifically stated that the new day one right to unfair dismissal will not take effect before the Autumn of 2026.
The two year qualifying period will be gone and the right not to be unfairly dismissed will be in place from day 1 of employment. However, this will not prevent fair dismissals. The Bill allows employers to operate probationary periods during which employees can be dismissed more easily for performance after following a lighter-touch process. The government has committed to consulting on the length of the statutory probation period – its preference is for a period of 9 months.
Sick Pay changes: The minimum earnings limit will be removed, but lower earners will be entitled to a lower level of SSP, and SSP will be available from day one.
Family Friendly changes: Day one rights will apply to employees taking paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.
Fire and Rehire: The practice of fire and rehire is going to be restricted, not abolished as originally promised.
Zero hour contracts: They won’t be banned altogether but Labour will end “one-sided flexibility”. The Bill provides that workers on zero hours contracts and workers with a “low” number of guaranteed hours, who regularly work more than these hours, will have the ability to move to guaranteed hours contracts which reflect the hours they regularly work over a 12-week reference period. These measures will also apply to agency workers.
Flexible working: Flexible working will be the “default” from day one for all workers, but only where “practicable”.
Maternity protection: Under the Bill it will be unlawful for an employer to dismiss a person returning from maternity leave for six months after their return to work except in specific circumstances.
Sexual Harassment: Further steps will be introduced following the new Sexual Harassment rules (26th October), details have yet to be confirmed.
Stuff that wasn’t in the bill:
– A commitment to tightening the ban on unpaid internships, and the government will launch a Call for Evidence by the end of the year;
– A commitment to allow the use of modern and secure electronic balloting for trade union statutory ballots.
-Strengthening protections for the self-employed by tackling late payments and ensuring that travel time is paid using the new Fair Payment Code
-Introducing the Right to Switch Off through a statutory Code of Practice
Other measures not requiring legislation include:
– Removing the minimum wage age bands;
-Supporting workers with a terminal illness through the Dying to Work Charter
-Developing menopause guidance for employers and guidance on health and wellbeing
As always watch this space…..
Do you have “Volunteers” in your business?
Volunteers are not entitled to be paid the minimum wage and do not benefit from many of the rights given to workers and employees, such as paid holiday or statutory sick pay. However, employers should take care they do not inadvertently create a contract with the individual, which could give them worker or employee status. A tribunal may find that a contract exists if you provide remuneration to the individual or if you exercise a significant degree of control over them.
Volunteers should be relatively free to accept or deny work as they choose, without penalty.
I would always advise that a written agreement is put in place to clarify expectations.
Mohammed Al Fayed accused of multiple rapes by staff
No doubt you have seen this all over the news, which leads me nicely into….
From 26 October 2024 all employers will be required to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (the new Act), and introduces a new duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.
The new Act now imposes a mandatory legal duty on employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment of employees while they are at work by taking reasonable preventative actions.
Should an employee win a sexual harassment claim at an employment tribunal and the employer is found to have neglected their duty to take reasonable preventative steps, the tribunal may increase the compensation awarded by up to 25%. Given that there is no upper limit on the compensation for discriminatory harassment, this increase could be substantial.
What do you need to do as an employer?
A starting point would be to:
- Revisit your policies
- Conduct training
What’s New?
Do you have a Tip Policy and Tip record?
From 1st October 2024 employers must fairly allocate “qualifying tips’ to their employees. The statutory Code of Practice tells us that you must have a policy and a tip record in place. Employers must pass on 100% of tips, service charges and gratuities to employees. This applies to employees, workers and agency staff.
If this applies to your business, give me a call now and we can implement a policy and tip record in time for the new legislation.