Significant new employment laws are just around the corner. These will impact day-to-day operations regarding your workforce.
Employment law is one of the most complicated areas to deal with and can be fraught with risk. It can be especially tricky when it comes to those working irregular hours or part time, or workers with protected characteristics.
It’s critical for organisations to plan for legislative changes to ensure compliance and avoid any pitfalls.
Have you:
- Updated your policies and internal processes?
- Got the right documents in place?
- Trained your managers properly?
- Informed your staff?
Day 1 Flexible Working Rights
From 6 April 2024, employees will be able to make a flexible working request from the first day of their employment. This means you will need to review your recruitment processes to take this possibility into account.
Other key changes will be introduced:
- Two requests can be made in any 12-month period.
- Employees are no longer required to set out how their request would impact the business.
- You are required to respond to requests within two months.
- You have a new legal duty to consult with employees about alternatives to their flexible working request.
You can read more
here.
Carer’s LeaveFrom 6 April 2024 employees will have a new legal entitlement to take up to one week’s unpaid leave per year to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need, such as those with a disability or old age.
It will apply to all employees from the start of their employment. Read more
here.
Statutory Paternity LeaveThese
changes, which apply in all cases where the expected week of childbirth falls on or after 6 April 2024, now allow paternity leave to be split into two blocks of one week at any point in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child.
The Notice period required for each period of leave has also been shortened to 28 days, or 4 weeks, instead of 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth.
Statutory Paternity Pay will also increase from £172.48 to £184.03 per week.
Extended Legal Protection From Redundancy During Family Leave
From 6 April 2024, redundancy protections will be extended for those on maternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
These employees will be entitled to suitable alternative employment in a redundancy situation, in preference to other employees at risk.
For women, this applies from the date they notify their employer of their pregnancy until 18 months after the expected week of childbirth.
Those on adoption leave will be protected for 18 months after the placement date.
For those employees taking less than six weeks’ shared parental leave, protection covers their period of leave. If they take more than six continuous weeks of shared parental leave, their protection continues for 18 months after the birth.
Statutory pay will increase to £184.03 per week for shared parental, maternity and adoption leave.
Free Childcare Expanded
The increased offer will be rolled out in stages to allow childcare providers time to be able to implement the changes, making sure the places that are needed are available across the country when the offers are introduced.
- From this April, the first stage of the rollout will see working parents of two-year-olds being able to access 15 hours of free childcare.
- From September 2024, 15 hours of free childcare will be extended down to the age of nine months for working parents.
- From September 2025, working parents of children aged nine months and upwards will be entitled to 30 hours free childcare per week right up to their child starting school.
Eligible working parents of three and four-year-olds already get 30 hours a week of free childcare.
National Minimum Wage Increases
From 1st April, National Minimum Wage rates and age thresholds are
changing.
The National Living Wage age band is being extended to include those workers who are 21 and over. Prior to this date, only those aged 23 and over receive the NLW.
- The Young Workers rate for those aged 16–17 will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour.
- The National Minimum Wage for people aged 18–20 will increase from £7.49 to £8.60 per hour.
- The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 or older will increase from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour.
- The Apprentice rate will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour for those under 19 or who are in the first year of an apprenticeship.
Need Help With HR and Employment Law Issues?
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