Dan FawcettThe Employment Rights Bill is the key legislative development to keep an eye on in the employment space, and you can follow developments on our new timeline, but it’s not the only development of interest in the past month.
- Employment Rights Bill 2024 – this Bill, which has been described as “the biggest upgrade to employment rights for a generation”, was published on 10 October when it had its first reading. On 21 October, it passed its second reading and it’s now at Committee stage: the House of Commons Public Bill Committee is scrutinising it and is scheduled to report to the House by 21 January 2025. Proposed amendments to the Bill were published on 27 November. The main Government amendments, which will almost certainly be taken forward, are to increase the time limit to bring ET claims from three to six months, introduce a new duty on employers to provide specified information on guaranteed hours rights to affected workers, and allow the Secretary of State to cap the compensatory award for employees unfairly dismissed during the initial period of employment. Most of the new provisions will come into force when Regulations are made by the Secretary of State, which is expected to be no earlier than 2026. However, repeal of the minimum service levels legislation will come into force the day the Bill is passed, and various trade union reforms will come into force two months after the Bill is passed: Employment Rights Bill – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament
- Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 – the Equality and Human Rights Commission has published templates to help employers comply with the new duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. They include a checklist, action plan and monitoring logs: Preventing sexual harassment at work: checklist and action plan for employers | EHRC
- Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amendment of Schedule A2) Order 2024 – this will come into force on 20 January 2025. It will amend the Act to give ETs the power to increase or reduce a protective award by up to 25% if an employer or employee has unreasonably failed to comply with the statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement (otherwise known as “fire and rehire”): The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amendment of Schedule A2) Order 2024
- National minimum wage – the Government has accepted the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations on the rates of the national minimum wage, including the national living wage, that will apply from 1 April 2025. They are: national living wage (21+) £12.21 per hour; 18-20 year old rate £10.00 per hour; 16-17 year old rate and apprentice rate £7.55 per hour; and accommodation offset £10.66 per day: National Living Wage to increase to £12.21 in April 2025 – GOV.UK
- Increases to statutory payments – the Department for Work and Pensions has published its planned increases to various statutory payments from next April. The weekly rate of SSP will be £118.75 and the weekly rate of statutory maternity pay, adoption pay, paternity pay, shared parental pay and parental bereavement pay will be £187.18. The figures and the dates from which they apply need to be formalised in Regulations, which will be laid before Parliament: Benefit and pension rates 2025 to 2026 – GOV.UK