All Change, But Down The Line...

 

 

With the new Labour Government’s first changes to the workplace coming down the line, our Head of Employment, Iain Jenkins, takes a look at what’s happening.

 

Here we go again I hear you say. The Labour Government has moved quickly to draft legislation following its “Plan to Make Work Pay”. A raft of changes is set out in the Employment Rights Bill 2024. The employment law landscape is shifting again in tectonic fashion.

 

At this festive time when repeat TV is the order of the day, I shall invoke the immortal words Corporal Jones - “don’t panic!”. This is draft legislation and now subject to Parliamentary scrutiny and consultation. There are likely to be adjustments to what is proposed, we will watch for significant developments and report to you as these happen. Employer and employee organisations will be arguing their corners and there will be lots of politicking.

 

I cannot do justice to the changes in an article of this length, however, of significant interest is the concept of day one rights for certain protections. We are accustomed to the idea that generally you require two years’ service to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. We are also used to the idea of probationary periods in contracts of employment and this concept will now take on greater significance.

 

Unfair dismissal protection from day one will require employers to have a fair reason to dismiss supported by a fair process. It is unlikely that legislation will come into force until the Autumn of 2026, plenty of time to absorb and plan. It is not as radical as just removing the qualifying period and it is unlikely that employers will be saddled with someone they don’t want, perhaps as a result of a poor recruitment process.

 

We will become acquainted with the statutory probationary period (nine months suggested by the Government), during which a “lighter-touch” dismissal process will be accepted as “fair”. However, there is no getting away from the fact that the right to bring a claim will be a day one right and it will be important for employers to ensure they are ready, and their staff are trained, to deal with this.

 

What else should we be looking out for? There will be new rules on family friendly rights. The Bill strengthens these by making statutory paternity and parental leave day one rights. The current 26 weeks’ qualifying period for paternity leave and the one-year qualifying period for parental leave will be removed.

 

The Bill extends the right to take bereavement leave and extends existing protections during pregnancy.

 

The Bill also strengthens statutory sick pay (SSP) rights by removing the three-day waiting period which means an employee will be eligible to be paid SSP from the first day of sickness absence. Sickness absences are at record highs so many will be hoping to see appointment times coming down so people can access care and return to work, thus reducing the cost of SSP to business.

 

The Bill also brings changes for those on zero hours contracts in relation to collective redundancies; trade union recognition; gender equality reporting; fire and re-hire and sexual harassment.

 

Some will say that these changes will generate risk, bureaucracy and costs for employers, with time consumed by new legislation which can better be spent elsewhere. Others will welcome the changes as long-awaited protections which will give greater certainty for employees from the start of employment. Ultimately, only time will tell but I suspect we will quickly adapt as we always do.

 

As the new legislation develops you will hear the usual trite advice about training and updating handbooks. Recruitment processes will also be important, particularly for smaller and medium-sized employers who might be lacking in resources.

 

As always, any questions, just ask!