Understanding the Upcoming UK Employment Law Changes: A Guide for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Are you ready for the changes in the UK’s employment landscape? Prepare yourselves as we delve into the upcoming shifts that could reshape how you manage and hire your workforce. We understand that navigating these changes might seem daunting as it’s time to reassess policies, update forms for compliance, and equip managers with the right tools to address requests confidently.
We’ll explore the key updates in this essential guide and to help you with a seamless transition and ensure you are well-prepared sign up for our upcoming free webinar this Thursday, 28th March, at 10:00 am, streaming online. We will explore all the updates, and what they mean for your company and discover how our dedicated HR team and cutting-edge technology can support you towards compliance and excellence.
Key HR Employment Updates and Changes for 2024:
Flexible Working – The Changes
In the ever-evolving landscape of UK employment law, flexibility is the current buzzword that’s here to stay and employers are now required to consider flexible working requests reasonably. This change aims to promote a healthier work-life balance for employees and boost productivity, staff retention, and recruitment.
There are five key changes to be aware of that are about to be implemented including a right to apply from day one of employment, a reduced timescale to respond to requests, encouraging more open and transparent discussions between employees and employers, and the right to submit two requests in 12 months. With increased employee rights, it’s essential to be well-informed and prepared for what lies ahead.
Carer’s Leave – New Act
Another important update pertains to carers leave, which allows employees to take unpaid time off to care for dependents in certain situations.
The new Carer’s Leave Act is a ‘day one’ entitlement for carers to take up to one week of unpaid leave per year. Understanding the provisions of carers’ leave can help you support employees with caring responsibilities.
Paternity Rights
Paternity rights have also been revised to provide more support for fathers or partners of pregnant women.
The change includes the provision to take two separate blocks of one week, rather than a single two-week block, and this will be extended to be taken any time in the first year rather than within the first 8 weeks after birth.
Extended Redundancy Protection
Extending redundancy protection for non-maternity and pregnant employees is a crucial development in UK employment law. It aims to prevent discrimination against employees due to pregnancy, maternity, or other family-related reasons during redundancy processes and ensure fair treatment of all employees during redundancy situations.
Changes to Annual Leave Calculation for Irregular Hours Workers:
Calculating annual leave for employees with irregular working hours can be complex. The recent changes in how annual leave is calculated for these workers aim to simplify the process and ensure that they receive their entitlement fairly.
The regulations make rolled-up holiday pay lawful for workers with irregular hours or part-year (term-time) workers.
Helping SMEs Navigate HR – Free Webinar – Thursday 28th March at 10.00 am.
Join our HR team at our upcoming webinar this Thursday as they take you through all the changes to flexible working requests, carers’ leave, paternity rights, extended redundancy protection, and annual leave calculations for irregular-hours workers.
Don’t miss the opportunity to equip yourself with the knowledge and gain valuable insights and practical tips.
We’ll help you navigate these changes, including what they mean for your company and how our HR team and technology can support you.
Register for our free webinar today and stay ahead of the curve!
HR Services
If you have any questions or concerns or if you want more details on the HR services we provide and how we can support your business please don’t hesitate to contact our HR Advisory services.
We also offer a FREE HR Health Check for your business. Complete the online form and we will send you a report highlighting any employment or HR areas of potential risks.
