Employment Law Updates

Following the introduction of carers leave, the government has confirmed it
will review the act, along with the possibility of making carers leave paid
leave. No date confirmed

Update the national living wage to account for cost of living and remove
the lower 18-20 year old bracket. No date confirmed

The Paternity Leave (bereavement) bill received royal accent on 24 May
2024.It will provide bereaved partners/fathers to take paternity leave in the first
year after a child or adoption in the event the mother dies. There will not be
the requirement to have 26 weeks’ continuous service to be eligible. A date
is yet to be confirmed for implementation.

The Nondisclosure agreements bill has been put before parliament. If
enacted it will give clear guidance about the content and use of nondisclosure agreements.

The Government has announced an intention to restrict non-compete clauses to a maximum of 3 months after leaving the company. The noncompete clauses will not be restricted during notice periods or garden leave. Currently, there is no timetable given for the implementation and the announcement states when parliamentary time allows. This will be delayed.

The Government further commits to putting forward a Skills England Bill. This will establish a new body, Skills England, aiming to bring together business and trade unions ‘in a new partnership with employers at its heart’, and reform the apprenticeship levy.

The Government have also committed to introducing a draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. This is intended to “enshrine the full right to equal pay in law” for ethnic minorities and disabled people.

The Bill is expected to include the following:

• Introduce into law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people and give them the right to bring an equal pay claim
• Mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for employers with 250 or more employees

Following the Employment Rights Bill being laid before parliament and consulted on the following proposed changes will be put forward for Royal Assent, probably during the parliamentary break for summer in July.

Trade Union Rights:

• Lowering thresholds for statutory trade union recognition, making It easier to gain recognition
• Introduce a new duty for employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
  Introduce a right for trade Unions to access all workplaces (unionised or not) to meet and organise with members
• Simplify information requirements on ballots for industrial action and extend the expiry of a mandate for industrial action from 6 to 12 months
• Repeal the 50% industrial action allot threshold

Unfair Dismissal:

• Remove the two year dismissal qualifying period, replacing it with a new statutory probationary period which will be referred to as ‘Initial period of employment’. Expected to be nine (9) months, however this is to be confirmed.

Sick Pay:

• Removal of the 3 waiting days for statutory sick pay (SSP) meaning sick pay will start on day one of sickness
• Removal of the lower earnings limit to be eligible for SSP
• New regulations to introduce a right for low earners, including those under the lower earning limit to be paid SSP at the rate of 80% of their average weekly earning, if less than the flat rate of SSP

Fire and Rehire:

• Severely restrict the use of fire and rehire making it automatically unfair dismissal where employers dismiss for employee not agreeing to vary their terms of employment. (there will be a narrow exception where employers can evidence that the business would no longer be a going concern if the variation didn’t take place).

Collective Consultation during Redundancy:

• New threshold test where employers propose to make 20 or more redundancies at one establishment or a certain percentage are affected across the employing entity, must carry out collective consultation, meaning employers will need to count planned redundancies across ALL its sites to determine if it triggers collective
  consultation.
• Increase the maximum protective aware if an employer fails to comply with collective consultation requirements.
• Proposing to increase the cap on protective awards in collective redundancy situations from 90 to 180 days to encourage compliance

Zero and low hours contracts:

• Amend the bill to give zero hours and low hours workers a right to guaranteed hours contract to reflect the hours regularly worked based on a set period likely to be 12 weeks
• Give reasonable notice of changes to shifts or working hours
• A right to compensation that is proportionate to the notice given if shifts are cancelled or curtailed
• Possibility that the bill will be amended to include agency workers

Flexible Working:

• Make flexible working a default day one right (apart from when it is not reasonably feasible)
• Strengthen the April 2024 legislation giving right to request flexible working from day one of employment, any refusal must be reasonable, the 8 business reasons will remain the same, however the employer must explain in writing the reason and why their reason is considered reasonable.

Equality Action Plans:

• Requirement for employers with 250 or more employees to publish equality action plans.
• The plans are to outline actions to address inequalities like gender pay gap and how employers will support employees through the menopause

Maternity and Family Leave Returners:

• Make it unlawful to dismiss a woman who is pregnant, on maternity leave and within 6 months of returning to work (with some exceptions)
• Expand existing powers in relation to adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, and bereaved partners paternity leave to enable regulation of dismissal in the period after a person returns to work after taking one of the forms of leave.

Parental Leave:

• Make parental leave a day one right removing the requirement to have one years’ service

Paternity Leave:

• Making paternity leave a day one right (removing the requirement of 26 weeks’ service).

Protection form Harassment:

• Introducing a new requirement for employers to not permit harassment from a third party (such as a customer)

Sexual Harassment:

• Requiring employers to take ALL steps to prevent sexual harassment
• This change is a further increase on the legislation under the Worker
  Protection

(Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 Bereavement:

• Introduction of a day one right to at least one week of bereavement
  leave.

Bereavement Leave after Miscarriage:

• Expected to extend the provisions of the current law on parental bereavement leave by introducing a statutory right to bereavement leave for pregnancy or baby loss before 24 weeks for the mother and partner.

Fair Work Agency:

• The establishment of a new enforcement body Fair Work Agency (FWA) with an aim of a single place where workers and employees can seek help. It will combine the employment agency standards inspectorate, the gangmasters and Labour abuse Authority and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage to enforce a wider range of employment rights.
• Likely that a new provision to allow the FWA to take forward an employment tribunal claim on behalf of a worker if the worker decides not to. Will also have the power to give legal assistance to a worker taking a claim forward.
• Be able to recover the costs of enforcement action form individual employers.

Tribunals:

• Extend time limits to bring a tribunal claim from three (3) months to six (6) months.

Settlement agreements and HR Consultants.

• The CIPD is supporting an amendment to the Employment Rights bill for HR Consultants to be able to consult and sign Settlement agreements.
• If it comes into law those who would like to undertake this would need to have specific training delivered by the CIPD and signed off as competent. This is to support businesses and employees so that they don’t have to go to costly solicitors for advice and sign off.

The ICO Information Commissioner’s Office requested views to help shape its new data protection and employment practices guidance, which will replace the existing Employment Practices Code. The ICO has confirmed that this will be replaced with a web-based hub of guidance covering various employment topics and issues. There are also proposals to replace UK GDPR legislation with a new data protection framework. This will remain paused for the time being, no further updates.

A bullying and respect bill, which has previously been introduced to parliament but was not enacted before parliament dissolved in July 2024, has been reintroduced. should it be passed and come into law, it shall:

• Provide a statutory definition of bullying at work
• Create a new claim related to bullying at work which can go before a tribunal
• Provide a respect at work code of conduct to set minimum standards
• Give further powers to the Equalities and Human Rights commission to investigate workplaces where there is evidence of a culture, or multiple incidents of bullying to take enforcement action.

The government has completed a white paper “Restoring control over the Immigration System.” With the overarching aim to have the immigration status lined to skills and training.

The proposed changes include:

• Making it so that employers will no longer be able to recruit social care workers from overseas, with social care visas being closed to new applications. There will be a transition period until 2028, where visa extensions will be permitted for those already in the country with working rights.
• Lifting the required level for Skilled Worker visas back to RQF 6 (degree level) and above and the salary threshold will be increased.
• Those already on an existing Skilled Worker visa will continue to be able to renew their visa and change employment in roles below the new level.
• Requiring employers to boost domestic talent and skills if they want Employment Law, Legislation and Bills Update.
• To recruit from abroad, if they don’t, they will be restricted from

Sponsoring skilled visas

• Launching new requirements for workforce strategies in sectors that have high levels of recruitment from abroad. These strategies will be used as part of an assessment to allow employers to access the
  immigration system via a new Temporary Shortage List

Raising the language requirements for Skilled Workers

• Increasing the Immigration Skills Charge by 32%, meaning employers will have to pay more to sponsor workers to come to the UK
• Continuing to build on the steps taken to tackle illegal working, specifically putting resource into key sectors where it is taking place, including the gig economy.

After the General Election on the 4th of July 2024, the King gave a speech on 17 July, where he confirmed the Government’s plan to introduce a new Employment Rights Bill within its first 100 days in office. This bill is expected to include promises from Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay, such as:

• Parental leave, sick pay, and unfair dismissal protection from day one for all workers, with some exceptions during probation.
• Banning exploitative zero-hours contracts.
• Ending “fire and re-hire” practices.
• Making flexible working the default from day one.
• Protecting new parents from being dismissed for six months after returning to work, except in limited cases.
• Removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay eligibility.
• Creating a new Fair Work Agency to enforce workplace rights.
• Establishing a Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care.
• Easing restrictions on trade unions, including repealing minimum service levels and simplifying the recognition process.

It is still unclear which of these will be included in the final bill.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) asked for feedback to help create new guidance on data protection and employment practices, which will replace the current Employment Practices Code. The new guidance will be available online as a hub covering different employment topics. There are also plans to replace UK GDPR with a new data protection framework, but this is currently on hold with no further updates.

The Government plans to limit non-compete clauses to a maximum of 3 months after leaving a company. These clauses won’t be restricted during notice periods or garden leave. There is no set timetable for when this will take effect, and it will be delayed until parliamentary time permits.

The Government has also pledged to introduce a Skills England Bill in Parliament. This bill will create a new organisation called Skills England, which will unite businesses and trade unions in a partnership focused on employers, and it will also reform the apprenticeship levy.

On the 10th of October 2024, an Employment Rights Bill was introduced to Parliament. This bill includes several proposed measures currently under consultation, with potential amendments anticipated in the coming weeks and months.

Key proposals include:

• Providing immediate access to parental leave, statutory sick pay, and protection against unfair dismissal for all workers from day one, while allowing for dismissals during probation periods.
• Prohibiting the practice of “fire and re-hire.”
• Making it unlawful to dismiss an employee within six months of their return from maternity leave, except under specific circumstances.
• Lifting restrictions on trade union activities, repealing minimum service levels, simplifying the statutory recognition process, and ensuring regulated access to unions within workplaces.
• Removing the “at one establishment” rule, combining redundancies across all branches or offices to meet collective redundancy thresholds.
• Establishing a new fair work agency that consolidates existing government enforcement bodies such as HMRC and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
• Eliminating the lower earnings limit and waiting period from statutory sick pay eligibility requirements.
• Requiring large employers (250+ employees) to develop action plans addressing the gender pay gap, in addition to current reporting obligations.
• Introducing a right to bereavement leave from day one, currently only available to parents of a child who passes away before their 18th birthday.
• Granting paternity leave as a day-one right.
• Making flexible working the default option from day one for all employees.
• Mandating that employers provide information about the right to join a trade union alongside employmen contracts.
• Ensuring zero-hour contract workers receive reasonable notice of shift changes and compensation for shifts that are canceled, rescheduled, or end early.
• Granting zero-hour workers the right to request consistent hours based on their regular work patterns over a specified period.
• Expanding the duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, following the enhancements introduced on 26 October 2024.
• Making employers liable for third-party harassment.
• Requiring large employers (250+ employees) to create action plans for supporting employees experiencing menopause.

These proposed changes signal significant shifts in employment rights and employer responsibilities.

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act allows parents of a child in neonatal care to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave. Employees will be protected from being dismissed or treated unfairly for taking this leave. The right to leave starts from the first day of employment, but to receive pay at the usual statutory rate, employees must have at least 26 weeks of continuous service. The bill became law on 24 May 2023 and is expected to take effect by April 2025, possibly as early as October 2024.

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act introduces a new duty for employers to take reasonable measures to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

Employers will be held liable for such harassment unless they can demonstrate and provide evidence that they have taken all reasonably practicable steps to prevent it. If found in breach, tribunals may impose up to a 25% increase in compensation. This legislation came into effect on the 26th of October 2024.

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 became law on 2 May. The government has approved a code of practice that employers must follow. When the law takes effect:

• Employers must fairly share tips and service charges among workers (not just employees).
• They must follow the code of practice (which is still being developed).
• Employers need to have a policy on how tips and service charges are allocated.
• Employers must keep records of all tips and service charges for 3 years.

More details will be provided when the law takes effect, which is expected on 1 October.

A revised edition of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Sexual Harassment and Harassment at Work: Technical Guidance was released in September 2024 to align with the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023.

The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023, along with its secondary regulations, is anticipated to take effect roughly one year following Royal Assent, which was granted on 8 September 2023. This Act will grant eligible workers and agency workers the right to request more predictable work terms and conditions.

The adjustments enable small businesses (with fewer than 50 employees) engaging in TUPE transfers of any magnitude, as well as businesses of any size conducting a small transfer (involving fewer than 10 employees), to directly consult their employees in the absence of established representatives.

The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Bill became law on 24 May 2024. When it takes effect, it will allow bereaved partners or fathers to take paternity leave within the first year after the birth or adoption if the mother dies. There will be no requirement for 26 weeks of continuous service to qualify. The start date for this law is yet to be confirmed.

Payment	From 6 April 2023	From 6 April 2024
Statutory sick pay	£109.40	£116.75
Lower earnings limit (per week)	£123	£123
Statutory shared parental pay (ShPP)  Statutory rate or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.	£172.48	£184.03
Statutory maternity pay (SMP)  First six weeks – 90% of employee’s average weekly earnings.                                                  Remaining weeks at the statutory rate or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.	£172.48	£184.03
Statutory adoption pay (SAP)  First six weeks – 90% of employee’s average weekly earnings.  Remaining weeks at the statutory rate or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.	£172.48	£184.03
Statutory paternity pay (SPP)  Statutory rate or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower.	£172.48	£184.03
Statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP)                                                                                    Statutory rate or 90% of employee’s weekly earnings if this is lower	£172.48	£184.03

Paternity leave will be available until the end of the first year after birth or adoption. Currently, they can only take one or two weeks in one block in the first 56 days after birth or adoption but from 6 April they can separate the leave into two separate one-week blocks and take it at any point after birth or adoption up to 52 weeks. Increased flexibility in paternity leave arrangements requires updates to HR policies and manager briefings. Ensure notice requirements are adjusted to comply with the reduced timeline. 

Pregnant women and new parents will receive greater protections from redundancy under new legislation.

Under current rules, before offering redundancy to an employee on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave, employers must offer them a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists. The Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination Bill introduced will enable this redundancy protection to be extended so it applies to pregnant women as well as new parents returning to work from a relevant form of leave. This will help shield new parents and expectant mothers from workplace discrimination, offering them greater job security at an important time in their lives.

The ‘protected period’ will be extended from when the employer is informed of the pregnancy and will continue to apply for eighteen (18) months after returning from the maternity, adoption or share parental leave.

Employees have the freedom to ask for flexible work arrangements right from the start of their employment. Before, they had to wait for 26 weeks. Additionally, employees can now make two flexible working requests in 12 months, compared to the previous limit of one request per year. Employers now need to manage and respond to flexible working requests, including appeals, within two months, a shorter time frame compared to the previous three-month period. 

The introduction of this brand-new employment legislation marks a significant milestone in shaping how businesses and employees navigate the workplace. With a focus on enhancing support for employees with long-term care responsibilities for their dependents, this legislation introduces a statutory framework for a specific type of leave, often referred to as carer’s leave. Under this legislation, eligible employees gain the entitlement to take a defined period of leave to provide or arrange care for their dependents facing the mentioned long-term care circumstances.  

The Carer’s Leave Bill will introduce a new right to one week’s unpaid leave in any 12 months. This is an extended right for all employees to provide, or arrange care, for a dependent with a long-term care need. 

The bill contains a specific definition of a dependant, restricting the scope to a spouse, civil partner, child, or parent of the employee. The dependant may live in the same household or reasonably rely on the employee to arrange care and long-term needs. This includes:

• Someone with an illness or injury that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months.
• Someone with a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010.
• Someone who requires care for reasons connected to their age.

The provision will be a day-one right, meaning employees do not need to have continuous service to qualify. Please note the employee doesn’t need to take the 1-week leave in one block. When requesting a carer’s leave, the employee must give twice as much notice as the time they are requesting. The employee isn’t required to provide evidence of the reason they are taking leave and the employer isn’t permitted to request evidence.

Significant changes are happening to how we figure out holiday time for part-time and irregular-hour workers. You’ll need to decide if you want to count the hours they work for their holiday (Aaccrual Method) or pay them a bit extra in their hourly rate for holiday time (Rolled-up Holiday Pay). Make sure to update contracts and let your staff know beforehand. 

• Accrual Method (12.07%) – e.g 50 Hours (50 x 12.07% = 6 Hours)

• Rolled Up Holiday Pay – Pay 12.07% on top of hourly rate

	New NLW from the 1st of April 2024	Percentage Increase
National Living Age (21 and over)	£11.44	9.8%
18-20 Year Old Rate	£8.60	14.8%
16-17 Year Old Rate	£6.40	21.2%
Apprentice Rate	£6.40	21.2%
Accommodation Offset	£9.99	9.8%

The Immigration Act is making big changes, especially when it comes to fines for businesses hiring illegal workers. To stay out of trouble, it’s important to do strict checks to make sure everyone’s allowed to work in the UK. This means using solid methods to check and update how things work in your HR processes. 

• First Breach = £45,000 (was £15,000)
• Repeated Breach = £60,000 (was £20,000)

Following Brexit the government has made a couple of announcements of changes to employment law, including changes to Working Time Regulations, and TUPE including:

• Allowing ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay. This has been technically unlawful under EU law for some years from 01 April 2024
• For casual workers and part-year workers (Term time etc.) use the 12.07% calculation for holidays for holiday years starting on or after

01 April 2024

• Removing the requirement for record-keeping working hours Ref: 122023SP
• Removing the requirement to consult with appointed representatives when there are fewer than 50 employees in the business and fewer than 10 transferees.

From the 5th of December 2022, flexible working requests are a day-one right for employees. Employees are now allowed to make 2 requests per year. For more information, read our latest blog post here.

The government has announced a new online service with the intention of helping employers support employees with disabilities and health conditions – it is aimed at smaller businesses without in-house HR support to ensure they know their legal
obligations as well as how to support the employees with reasonable adjustments.
The test service is live now and will be developed over the next 3 years.

ACAS have published new guidance on suspensions, making it clearer that suspensions should only be in a limited number of cases for a limited number of reasons including:

• The investigation, for example, if there is a risk of interference with witnesses or
  evidence;
• The business, if there is a genuine risk to customers, property or business interests;
• Other staff;
• The person under investigation.

ACAS also suggest a number of alternative options to be used instead of the suspension including:

1. Changing shifts
2. Working in a different part of the organisation
3. Working from home
4. Working from a different office or site
5. Stopping the employee from doing part of their job (eg stock handling, if the allegation concerns stock going missing)
6. Working with different customers or away from customers
7. Stopping the employee from using or having access to a specific system or tool

Minimum wage rates from April 2023

	Rate from April 2023	Current Rate (April 2022 to March 2023)	Increase
National Living Wage	£10.42	£9.50	9.7%
21-22 year old rate	£10.18	£9.18	10.9%
18-20 year old rate	£7.49	£6.83	9.7%
16-17 year old rate	£5.28	£4.81	9.7%
Apprentice rate	£5.28	£4.81	9.7%
Accommodation offset	£9.10	£8.70	4.6%

This private member’s bill, which has government backing, started its progress through Parliament on this date. The Carer’s Leave Bill gives carers one week’s unpaid leave a year to care for a dependent with a long-term care need that is:

• likely to last more than three months
• is a disability under the Equality Act 2010
• connected to old age.

This will be a day-one right for employees. The government committed to the change following a consultation in October 2021.

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill is also a private member’s bill which has received government backing. Employees on maternity leave currently must be given priority for suitable alternative employment in a redundancy situation. This bill will start that protection from when an expectant mother, or those adopting a child or taking shared parental leave, notifies their employer of their pregnancy, match for adoption, intention to take shared parental leave and extends for 18 months (about 1 and a half years) from the start of that leave.

Adjusted right-to-work Checks (covid): Adjusted right-to-work checks procedure comes to an end (covid practice of doing the socially distanced check, not Brexit). This has been extended to allow time for employers to get used to the new digital procedures. 

It was intended that temporary digital right-to-work checks would be replaced from 6 April 2022 by certified Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT), allowing for third-party service providers to carry out digital identity checks. This has however been deferred to 30 September 2022. The temporary changes will remain in place until then. 

The government announcement says the legislation will allow it to ‘amend more easily, repeal and replace’ law derived from the EU which has been kept as part of the Brexit arrangements. The Bill will also include a ‘sunset date’ by which all remaining EU Law will either be removed or absorbed into UK domestic law.

The Bill comes into effect at the end of 2023 and has a transition period up to mid-2026. After this time, regulations derived from EU law including the:

• Working Time Regulations
• Agency Workers Regulations
• Fixed Term Employees Regulations
• Part-Time Worker Regulations
• TUPE Regulations

will be removed from UK law unless they are written into new legislation.

The government announced an additional bank holiday on the 19th of September for the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Whether employees can take the time off depends on their contract of employment. For further guidance contact us.

On the 8th of August, the government proposed that separate approval processes should be introduced for public sector exit:

• Payments at or above £95,000
• Special severance payments.

Special severance payments are likely to include settlement agreement, garden leave and pay in lieu of notice payments.

Harpur Trust v Brazel – Holiday pay: Zero hours ‘part-year’ workers. The Supreme Court has upheld the Court of Appeal’s judgment that holiday pay for permanent staff who only work part of the year, such as term-time workers, should get a full 5.6 weeks’ annual leave a year, with pay calculated over a 52-week average, rather than on a basis of 12.07%. The same principles apply to those on a zero-hours, variable-hours or casual contract.

The government has decided not to legislate on employment status but to issue non-statutory guidance instead for employers and individuals making it clearer which rights attach to which category of employment (employee, worker and self-employed).

For the first time, employers can use agency workers to carry out the work of striking employees.

The policy includes:

• No changes to the Equality Act 2010 (on the basis protection against discrimination for menopause is already covered by the sex, age and disability provisions)
• Setting up a menopause task force to ensure the issue is prioritised in public policy on inclusion and diversity at work (the taskforce had its first meeting in February this year)
• Appointing government ‘menopause employment champions’ and encouraging larger organisations to do the same.

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill received government backing on the 15th July 2022. As a result, parents whose babies need neonatal care can take 12 weeks (about 3 months)’ of paid leave in addition to their statutory maternity or paternity leave.

The right will:

• Be available from day one of employment
• Apply to parents whose babies are admitted to the hospital up to the age of 28 days
• Apply to babies who need to stay in the hospital for 7 days continuously or more

As of 1st July 2022 nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists working in GP practices or in hospitals will be able to issue and sign fit notes. This new regulation follows the introduction of the digitalisation of Fit Notes.

The government has confirmed that it will introduce new regulations to:

• Allow employers to use agency workers to plug staffing gaps during strikes (currently it’s unlawful for agencies to supply workers for this purpose)
• Significantly increase the maximum damages that can be awarded against a trade union taking unlawful industrial action. For unions with 100,000 or more members, the cap on damages – currently  £250,000 – will rise to £1 million.

The regulations apply to England, Scotland and Wales.

Additional bank holiday for Queens Jubilee, worth considering now how that will impact, what does the contract say, are employees entitled to the bank holiday?

Voluntary Living Rate: Final date for implementing the Voluntary living wage increase to £9.90 nationwide and £11.05 for London.

Another review to look into the future of work has been launched. The intent of this review is to build on the recommendations made by Matthew Taylor, a Conservative MP, who did the last review in Teresa May’s government. This review is taking extra consideration into the UK’s post-Brexit labour market, levelling up and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The review will look at:

1. The link between geography, local labour markets and creating good jobs
2. The role of automation
3. Increasing flexibility in labour markets, while preventing exploitative practices and encouraging productivity

This year’s Queen’s Speech contained four bills relevant to employment:

1. Harbours (Seafarers’ Remuneration) Bill – UK ports now have the power to refuse entry to ships whose crews receive less than the National Minimum Wage. The bill is in response to ferry operator P&O firing its crew and replacing them with agency staff on lower wages.
2. Modern Slavery Bill – This is a mandatory regulation for companies with an annual turnover of £36 million or more to publish an annual statement on the government’s website outlining the steps they are taking to prevent modern slavery (currently reporting is voluntary). The bill will also introduce fines for companies that don’t report.
3. Brexit Freedoms Bill – The government has the power to change laws inherited from the UK without having a vote in parliament.
4. Data Reform Bill – This bill was introduced to shift data privacy away from a box-ticking exercise towards an outcomes-focused framework. The government maintains that the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 have ‘encouraged excessive paperwork’ for businesses.

The government has announced that it will extend the ban on exclusivity clauses currently in place for those on zero hours contracts to workers on or below the Lower Earnings Limit (the threshold that entitles employees to qualify for certain state benefits such as the basic state pension). The lower earnings limit for the current tax year is set at £123 a week and an estimated 1.5 million workers have weekly earnings at or below this level.

Exclusivity clauses in employment contracts prevent workers from working for other employers. The ban on them in zero hours contracts was introduced in 2015.

A week’s pay (basic award/redundancy payment) – £571 (from £544)

Maximum compensatory award – £93,878 (from £89,493)

On the 6th of April 2022 it is no longer a requirement for GPs and Doctors to sign a sick note as evidence of sickness leaves personally. The new regulations allow the document to be issued digitally, this is off the back of the adaptations made during the pandemic.

Employers are now allowed to carry out right to work checks virtually (via video call) to job applicants as a result of the pandemic. This was set to end on 5th April 2022, but has since been extended to 30th September 2022.

The government has also introduced a new service for checking British and Irish citizen’s right to work checks on 6th April. Please note, manual checks are still valid.

Family friendly payment rates will increase, including SMP, SAP, ShPP, SPP and SPBP from £151.97 to £156.66

Statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental pay rises to £156.66. Employers will have to increase payments for employees away from work on paid family leave from this date.

National Minimum wage and National Living Wages

On the 1st April 2022, the National Living Wage will rise from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 years and over. 

On the 15th of March 2022, the government revoked the regulations which required workers in care homes to have the covid 19 vaccination. This was a condition of employment from 11th November 2021. Government guidance on the issue has been withdrawn.

The COVID-19 provisions within the Statutory Sick Pay and Employment and Support Allowance regulations removed.

This includes SSP payments for those isolating (unless too unwell to work), and the payment of SSP from day 1.

All claims under the SSP rebate scheme for covid-related sickness must be submitted, and all amendments to claims made before this date.

Expiration of share codes extended from 30 days to 90 days

On 17 February 2022, the Home Office extended how long a share code lasts for to 90 days, up from 30 days. This means that once the share code, which is given to employers to be used to establish an individuals right to work in the UK, is generated, it will remain valid for 90 days. Under the previous system, it would expire after 30 days and a new one would need to be generated.

This therefore gives employers more time to complete right to work checks for applicants.