Update on New HR Employment Updates and Changes Coming in 2024: What You Need to Know

Navigating these developments can be a daunting task for businesses. We understand these concerns and our team of HR specialists have the expertise to assist you in making sure you have everything you need in place. It’s a crucial time to review current policies, and forms to make sure they are compliant, and managers have the skills needed to handle requests, our HR Advisory team are here to help you. 

Key HR Employment Updates and Changes for 2024:

Flexible and hybrid working  

From the 6th of April 2024, changes to the current flexible working rights will be implemented. This will include extending the right to all employees to submit a flexible working request from the first day of their employment, employees will be permitted to submit up to two flexible requests per year and employers must respond within 2 months rather than 3.

Working time – Calculation of holiday pay

Amendments relating to the calculation of holiday pay, and in particular the accrual of holiday entitlement for irregular hours and part-year workers will be implemented from the 1st of January. This introduces a statutory right to pay rolled-up holiday pay in respect of these workers. Employers should take steps to ensure that they are paying the correct amount of holiday pay and be up to speed on their potential liability for underpaid holiday, particularly if they engage staff who have not been properly categorised as ‘workers’ and are entitled to receive holiday pay.

Family Friendly Rights

A ‘day one’ entitlement for carers to take up to one-week unpaid leave per year will come into force on the 6th of April to provide care for a dependant.

From the 6th of April, there will be extended protection for redundancy during pregnancy. The right to be offered alternative vacancies in a redundancy situation will apply during pregnancy and for a period of 18 months after birth, including adoption or shared parental leave.

TUPE

TUPE transfers taking place on or after 1 July 2024, within small businesses (those with less than 50 employees) and larger businesses where fewer than ten employees are transferred will no longer be required to hold elections to appoint employee representatives for collective consultation purposes before a TUPE transfer. Employers will be permitted to consult their employees directly about such transfers, provided there are no existing worker representatives (such as trade union representatives) in place.

Ones to Watch in 2024: 

There are also a few more changes on the horizon for 2024 that are currently still under review, and we will update as soon as more is known, or the details are released.

These include:

• Tips and gratuities – A new statutory Code of Practice for the allocation of tips has been published for consultation until 22 February 2024, this provides more detailed guidance on how tips should be distributed amongst workers. It is due to come into effect on 1 July 2024.
• Sexual harassment – The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 will incorporate a new duty for employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees. This is expected to take effect in October 2024 and will be supported by a statutory code of practice.
• Paternity Leave: No date confirmed yet but the change will include 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.

2024 will witness several key HR employment updates and changes. Complete our FREE HR Health Check today and we will send you a report highlighting any areas of potential risks and how we can help equip you for the upcoming changes. If you would like to discuss anything in more detail please don’t hesitate to contact us.