The Employment Rights Bill 2024

Whilst slightly ahead of the budget, we felt this was a good place to up to date you with everything you need to know about the ‘biggest shake up to Employment Law in a generation.

The Government has today announced details of the hotly anticipated Employment Rights Bill 2024 which will introduce a wave of employment law changes. They have captured media interest since they first appeared in the Labour party manifesto in May 2024 entitled ‘Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay; delivery a new deal for working people’. The changes have been depicted as the most far-ranging enhancement to employee rights in a generation. We have set out below a brief overview of the new changes confirmed in the bill. Click here for the press release.

Unfair Dismissal – a day one right

At present, employees are required to have obtained two years’ continuous employment in order to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. This qualifying period is to be scrapped in its entirety – meaning that employees will have a right to bring an unfair dismissal claim from their very first day of employment. Whilst this will not prevent fair dismissals from taking place (for example, for reasons relating to conduct, performance or redundancy), the importance of both a fair and reasonable process being followed prior to any termination of employment will be paramount. For employers this will most likely result in the more effective and dedicated operation of probationary periods when assessing the performance and suitability to the role of new hires. With this in mind, the Government have also announced that they will consult on a statutory probation period for employers to assess the suitability of new starters to their role and the business. You may be best advised to deploy stringent probationary scrutiny now.

Flexible Working – a default

Flexible working is already a day one right. More than this, Government has confirmed that flexible working is the default position in the workplace and to be delivered by employers where it is ‘practical’. This means losing the existing 6 business case reasons to decline. It is as yet unknown what the effect of multiple sequential requests for flexible working on the new ‘practicality’ test might be. You should be prepared for flexible working requests to increase.

The end of ‘Fire and Re-hire’

This is already existing guidance on this practice dismissal and re-engagement: code of practice – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) which discourages the practice and gives clear help on how to negotiate change. This Government plans to enhance this code and eradicate this practice entirely. The plan is to introduction of ‘effective remedies’ against the abuse of fire and rehire. The details of these remedies have yet to be released but it is anticipated that with the implementation of deterrents, this practice will only be available for employers where there is no other alternative available. It means that changing terms and conditions to the detriment of an employee will become increasingly difficult. Where changes are planned, designed and necessary to reduce and control business expenditure, it may well be that the difficulty in changing terms will in fact simply operate to create more business reorganisations and redundancies. Watch this space.

Zero Hour Contracts

Workers to be provided with more security and predictability with the end of what are called “exploitative” zero hours contracts by:

  • introducing the right to a contract which reflects regular working hours (based on a 12-week reference period);
  • and introducing anti-avoidance measures (e.g., by implementing the right to reasonable notice of shift/working time changes – with compensation to be paid to workers for any short notice cancellations and/or shortened shifts).

We say that at this point in time this is not anticipated to prohibit employers offering staff fixed-term contracts, including for seasonal workers.

Minimum Wage

The Government intends to take into consideration the cost-of-living crisis when setting the new minimum wage rates in April 2025 and with the removal of the minimum wage age bands.

Statutory Sick Pay

The qualifying period for entitlement to statutory sick pay (“SSP”) will be removed, resulting in SSP being paid from day one of the employee’s sickness absence – as currently employees need to wait until day four of their absence before they start to receive SSP.

The bill also removed the lower earnings limit for SSP so that low earning employees are eligible to receive sick pay when they are ill and off work.

Parental Leave

Parental leave (i.e., unpaid time off work for the purpose of looking after your children), paternity leave and bereavement leave will be made a day one right.

Protection for New Mothers

Protections for pregnant women will be strengthened with a ban on the dismissal of new mothers during their maternity leave and for a period of six months after their return to work from maternity leave (except in specified circumstances). These specified circumstances have yet to be defined.

Single Enforcement Body

The Government will be establishing a single enforcement body to strengthen the enforcement of some employment rights. This will be known as the Fair Work Agency. How the additional jurisdiction of the FWA will work with the already overburdened Tribunal system is as yet unknown.

Trade Unions

Trade Union legislation will be updated to remove unnecessary restrictions on Trade Union activity such as the requirement for minimum service levels and the right for trade unions to access workplaces responsible and on notice (which may also extend to a new digital right of access so that unions can contact remote members). Whatever your industry or sector, you should expect a future where you are obliged to encourage union membership and where industrial relations become a part of your daily life.

Requirements for Larger Employers

The Government have also proposed the requirement for large employers to put together plans on how they intend to support staff who are going through menopause and what steps they will take to address gender pay gaps.

Next Steps

Much detail remains absent. The Government will publish a ‘Next Steps’ document which is anticipated to introduce clarity.

The information contained in the above article was correct at the time of publication. To ensure you are kept up to date with changes to the budgets please visit the Gov.uk website

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