.png)
If you ask an employment practitioner when is the busy month for key employment law changes, most will say April. In our blog, we provide a reminder of what is new in employment law:
Flexible Working
On 6 April 2024, the right to request flexible working became a day one right. As a result, all employees now have the right to request flexible working regardless of their length of service (you previously needed 26 weeks’ service) and at the end of March it was also confirmed the commencement of the following changes from 6 April:
Employees have no service requirement making the request (it’s from ‘day one’).
Employees can make two flexible working requests in 12 months (but only one at a time).
Employees no longer need to explain the impact of their request.
Employers have two months in which to respond.
Employers must consult with employees before refusing a request.
The revised statutory Acas Code of Practice on requests for flexible working should be followed by employers when dealing with flexible working requests. Employment Tribunals will take the Code into account when considering relevant cases.
You can check your policies and procedures to reflect these changes and helpful to provide support for managers on how to deal these requests fairly and that requests can now be made by new staff.
Carer’s Leave
The Carer's Leave Regulations 2024 are now in force. Giving employees the right to apply for up to one week of unpaid carer’s leave in any 12-month period:
No service requirement for taking this leave ( ‘day one’ entitlement).
Leave must be used to care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
The minimum period of leave that can be taken is half a working day, up to a maximum of 1 week. It does not need to be taken in consecutive blocks.
Employees must give notice of their wish to take carer’s leave (twice as long as the period of leave requested or three days’ notice, whichever is longer).
Employees do not need to provide evidence in relation to a request for leave and employers cannot ask them to provide it.
Employees who take carer’s leave will be protected from detriment or dismissal as a result.
Employers may postpone carer’s leave if they reasonably consider it will unduly disrupt their business, but must allow it to be taken within one month of the initial request.
You can review and update relevant policies.
Paternity Leave
Greater flexibility has been introduced to statutory paternity leave for employees where the expected week of childbirth is after 6 April 2024, or the expected date of placement for adoption is after this date. In summary:
Leave can be taken in two separate one-week blocks and may be taken at any time within the first year after birth or adoption.
Employees need to give 28 days’ notice of their intention to take leave (or 7 days of being matched in cases of adoption).
Employees must still give notice of their entitlement to take leave 15 weeks before the expected week of birth.
Again, paternity leave policies should be updated in light of these changes.
Protection from Redundancy
For some time now, a positive discrimination for women on maternity leave and employees on adoption or shared parental leave have in a redundancy situation had the right to be offered priority over other employees of suitable alternative employment.
On 6 April, this has been extended the right to both:
Pregnant employees, from the date they inform their employer of their pregnancy, and;
Those returning from long-term family leave (ie maternity leave, adoption leave and statutory parental leave if over six consecutive weeks long). The protection period lasts for 18 months after the date of childbirth/adoption, regardless of how much leave the employee takes, in most cases this will include a period of time when the employee is back at work following leave.
A significant additional protection as it extends the length of the “priority status” period for eligible employees, potentially giving rise to a greater number of protected individuals in a redundancy situation. If you are planning any redundancy steps moving forwards, recognise suitable alternative positions are identified and offered to the new category of individuals, otherwise you could risk an automatically unfair dismissal or discrimination.
Holiday Pay
From now, employers will have the option to calculate holiday pay and entitlement in two new ways for part-year and irregular hours workers (as defined in statute):
The new method of calculating annual leave based on an accrual method is calculated at 12.07 per cent of hours worked in a pay period.
Rolled up holiday pay (the amount for holiday pay on top of the worker’s normal hourly rate, paid at the time they perform the work, rather than when they are on holiday).
The Government’s guidance on calculating holiday entitlement and pay for part-year and irregular hours workers is here. This was updated on 1 April 2024. The main change is that they have included a paragraph which suggests it may be possible for someone to qualify as a part-year worker if they are paid ‘during’ periods they are not working, as long as there is no expectation for them to work in that period and they are not paid ‘for’ that period. It provides scope for workers engaged for part of the year but paid annualised pay to come within the statutory definition of part-year worker.
Other employment law changes on the horizon….
July 2024 | TUPE changes, when employers can consult directly with employees. |
Summer 2024 | A new Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement is expected to be brought into force. |
September/October 2024 | A new statutory right for eligible workers to request a more predictable working pattern is expected. |
October 2024 | The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 will come into force. Which will require employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment. |
April 2025 | Changes to neonatal care will come into force (under the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023). Eligible employees whose new-born baby is admitted to neo-natal care will be able to take up to 12 weeks additional paid leave. |
PLEASE NOTE: This is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to suit your specific requirements.
Disclaimer: Our blog content is for marketing or general information purposes only and doesn't constitute legal advice. Whilst we aim to provide accurate and up to date information, it should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Reading this blog doesn't establish a client relationship with us. For formal advice please contact us directly: info@affablepartner.co.uk
Comments