Employment Law Basics
If I had to dream up a workshop heading that might send delegates to sleep or fill them with dread,‘ Employment Law’, could be it! However, although the topic might strike alarm bells in fact it is of interest to businesses and I have been running a few workshops on this recently which are always very popular. So why is that?
Partly, it’ s because there have been several changes to employment law over the last few months, but also there is a big bill before parliament at the moment – the ERB( employment rights bill) which proposes the biggest shake up of employment rights since I first came into HR 30 years ago. And that’ s notwithstanding some of the juicy headlines appearing recently, trailing some of the potential changes the ERB might bring. All of this can get employers in a bit of a spin, particularly small employers who don’ t have the in-house legal or HR expertise to work out what these changes mean for their business.
So what’ s changed / changing? If you’ re struggling to keep up with the key changes and how they affect your business, here’ s my quick overview. The table below shows you changes that took place in 2024 and changes that are expected in 2025 and beyond:
Effective Date
April 2024
April 2024
April 2024
October 2024
October 2024
April 2025
April 2025
ERB
Detail
Carer’ s Leave – unpaid carers are entitled to up to five working days in a 12-month rolling period. NB: the leave is currently unpaid.
Redundancy protection- increasing the rights of those who are pregnant, those who suffer a miscarriage and those on maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave.
Flexible working – the right to request from Day 1 and enabling employees to make two requests for flexible working every 12 months.
Fair allocation of tips- requirement for employers to fairly allocate tips over which they exercise control, or significantly influence.
Duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment – this amendment to the Equality Act places a duty on employers to take measures to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees.
The National Living Wage( NLW) for over-21s rises from £ 11.44 to £ 12.21 per hour. The National Minimum Wage( NMW) for 18- 20 year olds rises from £ 8.60 to £ 10 per hour. The real Living Wage( non-statutory) rises to £ 12.60 per hour outside London & £ 13.85 per hour in London.
Neonatal care and pay – a new right to neonatal leave and pay where a child is in neonatal care for seven continuous days or more within the first 28 days of birth.
The Employment Rights Bill is currently progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes proposals on statutory sick pay, zero hours contracts and fire and rehire practices, amongst many more. Any legislative changes made are unlikely to come into force before October 2026.
Getting Started If all this is leaving you baffled and wondering where to start, do get in touch. I’ m happy to help with an audit and recommendations reviewing your current contracts, policies and practices.
Ruth George- HR Consultant- ruth @ ruthgeorge. com | 07899 920075 © Ruth George HR Consulting. This is not legal advice and is provided for general information only.
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