Employment Rights

Announced

Awaiting further details (Potential legislation or regulation)

• The Employment Rights Bill 2024-25 was introduced on 10 October 2024 but is yet to be ratified,  including:

  • Unfair dismissal protection: Currently, an employee must have worked for you for two continuous years before they can claim unfair dismissal. The Government plans to remove this so that employees will be protected from unfair dismissal from their first day of work. This “will not prevent employer from dismissing fairly or from using probationary periods with fair and transparent rules and processes”. The Government will consult on introducing a 9-month statutory probation period, allowing for a proper assessment of an employee’s suitability for a role
  • Ban on Fire & Rehire: Otherwise known as dismissal and re-engagement. Practices of firing and rehiring under less favourable terms will be banned, except where genuinely necessary for the employer to remain solvent
  • Flexible Working: Will be the default from day one, where practical, unless the employer can justify otherwise. Employers will be expected to accommodate “as far as is reasonable”
  • Redundancy Consultation: Strengthen collective redundancy rights by ensuring employer obligations to consult on and notify 20 or more redundancies across a workforce, not just a single establishment

  The ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ outlined the gGvernment’s future intentions, including:

  • Single Status of Worker: There are currently 3 types of employment status recognised (Employee, Worker, Self-Employed). The plan is to create a single class of worker for all but the genuinely self-employed

Implemented

Implementation dates announced – time to prepare (Forthcoming legislation or regulation)

• Watch this space!

Recently Introduced

1 January 2024 – The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL Act) removed the interpretive effects of retained EU law.

1 January 2024 – The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 came into force, bringing changes to the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the TUPE regulations and carryover of leave following sickness absence and statutory family-friendly leave was added to the Working Time Regulations.

1 July 2024 – The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 brought in in new rules permitting employers to consult directly with staff affected by TUPE.

18 July 2024 – A new statutory Code of Practice on “fire and re-hire”, called the “Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement” was introduced.

Content will be added as the changes are introduced, so keep checking back!