Title: Major Employment Law Reforms Predicted for 2024: Implications for Holiday Pay, Brexit, Discrimination Protections, and More
In the upcoming year, 2024, significant changes are expected in employment law. These reforms will have profound implications for various aspects of employment, ranging from holiday pay and discrimination protections to Brexit changes. To help businesses plan ahead, our Employment, Labour & Equalities team has compiled a quarterly breakdown of the key developments expected in 2024.
Here are the major employment law reforms that are on the horizon:
1. Holiday leave and pay: The COVID-19 carry-over provisions will be repealed, and the right to carry over leave will be codified. Additionally, the meaning of normal pay will be codified, and clarifications will be provided regarding record-keeping requirements.
2. Brexit: The supremacy and general principles of EU law will be abolished, and retained EU law will be referred to as ‘assimilated law’.
3. Discrimination: The Equality Act 2010 will be amended to incorporate certain discrimination protections derived from EU law to prevent their loss.
Let’s dive into the timeline of specific reforms expected in 2024:
January 16, 2024:
– Agency workers: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Consultation on repealing the ban on hiring agency staff during industrial action will close.
January 17, 2024:
– Predictable working patterns: The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Consultation on a draft statutory Code of Practice on handling requests for a predictable working pattern will close.
January 22, 2024:
– Right to work checks: Illegal working fines imposed by the Home Office will increase threefold. A new Code of Practice on preventing illegal working will also come into force.
January 30, 2024:
– Strike Minimum Service Levels (MSLs): The Department for Education (DfE) Consultation on minimum service levels in education services during strike action will close.
Early 2024:
– Strike: Regulations introducing minimum service levels in hospital services during strike action are expected to be implemented following the consultations held by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
February 22, 2024:
– Allocation of Tips: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Consultation on a draft statutory Code of Practice supporting measures in the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 will close.
March 8, 2024:
– Paternity leave: Minor amendments to paternity leave will be enforced, including the right to take two weeks of leave in separate blocks and changes to notification periods.
April 1, 2024:
– Holiday leave and pay: Any leave accrued under the COVID-19 holiday carry-over rules can no longer be utilized.
April 1, 2024:
– Holiday leave and pay: New rules concerning holiday accrual and provision of rolled-up holiday pay for irregular hours and part-year workers will apply to annual leave years starting on or after this date.
April 4, 2024:
– National Minimum Wage (NMW): Annual increases in the NMW will take effect. The age band for the National Living Wage (NLW) will expand from 23+ to 21+, and the hourly rate will rise from £10.42 to £11.44.
April 4, 2024:
– Gender pay gap reporting: Private and voluntary sector reports will be due for publication.
April 6, 2024:
– Carer’s leave: A new statutory entitlement to one week of unpaid carer’s leave per year will be introduced for employees caring for a dependent with a long-term care need.
April 6, 2024:
– Flexible working requests: Revised provisions for the flexible working request process will come into force, making the right to request flexible working a day one right. A corresponding revised statutory code of practice will also be in effect.
April 6, 2024:
– Redundancy protection: The existing redundancy protections for employees on maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave will be extended to cover the period up to 18 months after the expected week of childbirth/adoption placement, as well as the pregnancy period.
April 6, 2024:
– Statutory pay rates: Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and parental bereavement leave pay rates will increase from £172.48 to £184.03. Statutory sick pay will increase from £109.40 to £116.75.
Looking further ahead:
May 9, 2024:
– Union membership: New check-off rules for public sector unions will come into force.
By Spring 2024:
– Fire & rehire: The government is expected to respond to the Consultation on the draft statutory code of practice on fire and rehire practices, consequently finalizing the Code and potentially imposing a 25% compensation uplift for non-compliance.
July 1, 2024:
– Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE): The exemption to certain consultation requirements for smaller undertakings will be expanded, applicable for transfers occuring on or after this date.
During Summer 2024:
– Corporate reporting: Proposals to update non-financial reporting requirements, including gender pay gap and modern slavery reporting, are expected to be consulted upon.
October 25, 2024:
– Harassment: Employers will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, with a 25% compensation uplift for breaches.
In Autumn 2024:
– Predictable working patterns: A new right for workers to request a more predictable work pattern is anticipated to be enforced.
April 2025:
– Neonatal care leave: Employed parents with a newborn admitted to neonatal care will be entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid leave.
In the upcoming years (2024/25):
– Pensions auto-enrolment: Reduction of the lower age limit for pensions auto-enrollment from 22 to 18 and reduction of the lower earnings limit are likely to be considered.
– Occupational health: Proposals to expand income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) exemptions for specific medical benefits in kind will be addressed.
– Non-compete clause: Clarity on the introduction of legislation to restrict non-compete provisions to a maximum of three months is expected.
– Whistleblowing: The outcome of the review of the whistleblowing framework conducted in 2023 will be communicated.
– Corporate fraud: Introducing a criminal offense of failure to prevent fraud by employees, with an adequate procedures to prevent defense, is on the agenda.
– Diversity & Inclusion (D&I): New rules by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority regarding non-financial misconduct and diversity data collection, reporting, and target-setting are set to be published and enforced 12 months after publication.
– Artificial intelligence: The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee will release its report on the governance of artificial intelligence.
– Non-disclosure agreements: Legislation will be introduced to restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in harassment and discrimination cases.
These reforms present a challenging landscape for businesses and HR teams to navigate. Keeping a close eye on these developments and other employment law news and cases will be crucial for organizations.
