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22 01 2024

Employment Law Updates – 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General, Handbook, Investigations, Training & Development @sg1, #bedfordshirebusiness, #consensushr, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedemploymentlaw, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Employment law dates at a glance – 2024

What are the planned Employment Law changes for this year and beyond?

Employment Law Updates – 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Our Chartered Instituted of Personnel & Development (CIPD) have collated all the forthcoming Employment Law changes and Consensus HR by working with its monthly retained clients will be ensuring that all our clients Employee Handbooks and HR Policies & Procedures are kept up to date whilst providing HR & Employment Law support as required.

Did you know? Our monthly retained HR clients for a monthly fee never have to worry about the ever changing Employment Law as their employee handbooks are updated automatically and members of the team informed? If you are interested, give us a non-obligatory call now – 01438 576 750 and talk to a member of the team. Let us, help you to Prevent People Problems.

To view more on Employment Law

To read more about Employment Law and how to ensure you are working to best practice and the law and how Consensus HR can help you:

Click Here

Forthcoming changes

This table shows forthcoming changes. See the forthcoming legislation in-depth page and relevant employment law topic for more information on these new statutes and amendments.

Employment Law Updates - 2024 | Consensus HR - Herts, Beds

31 January 2024 (at the earliest)

If approved by parliament, the draft Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2023 (the IHS Order 2023) will increase the immigration health surcharge in 2024. This will come into force 21 days after being confirmed by parliament.

31 March 2024

All leave carried over due to it being unreasonable to take it due to covid must be taken by this date.

1 April 2024

The National Living Wage age band will be expanded to include workers aged 21 and over. The National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates will rise as follows. • The National Living Wage (for people aged 21 or older) will increase from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour. • The National Minimum Wage for workers aged 18–20 will increase from £7.49 to £8.60 per hour. • The young workers rate for workers aged 16–17 will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour. The apprentice rate for apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in the first year of the apprenticeship, will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour.

1 April 2024

Changes to holiday rules For holiday years beginning on or after this date, holiday entitlement for part year and irregular hours workers can be calculated by taking 12.07% of the hours worked in the pay period. Rolled up holiday will also be permissible from this date for part year and irregular hours workers only.

6 April 2024

The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations (SI 2023/1328) come into force and remove the requirement for employees to have at least 26 weeks’ service to be entitled to make a flexible working request.

6 April 2024

Subject to parliamentary approval, the draft Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 will introduce a new statutory right to unpaid carer’s leave for employees in England, Wales and Scotland.

6 April 2024

Subject to final parliamentary approval, the draft Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will make significant changes to paternity leave, allowing it to be taken in the first 52 weeks after birth or adoption, and in two separate weeks. This will apply in relation to children whose expected week of childbirth is after 6 April 2024, and children whose expected date of placement for adoption, or expected date of entry into Great Britain for adoption, is on or after that date.

6 April 2024

Subject to parliamentary approval, the Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will extend redundancy protection during pregnancy and for the period of 18 months after the birth or placement of a child for those taking maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.

April 2024

Proposed new rate for statutory leave and pay, including statutory shared parental, maternity, adoption, paternity and parental bereavement pay is proposed to rise to £184.03.

April 2024

Proposed new rate for statutory sick pay from April 2024 is £116.75.

1 July 2024

The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 bring in new rules permitting employers to consult directly with staff affected by TUPE, rather than electing representatives, will apply to businesses with 50 or fewer employees or transfers involving 10 or less employees. Government outlines changes to holiday pay and EU retained law

Further anticipated Employment Law changes..... What further Employment Law changes can be expected in 2024 and beyond?

September 2024 (expected)	The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 and secondary regulations are expected to come into force approximately one year after Royal Assent, which was given on 8 September 2023. The Act will give eligible workers and agency workers the right to request more predictable terms and conditions of work.
October 2024 (expected)	The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act and relevant secondary legislation is expected to come into force, introducing a new proactive duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Employers will be required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. Tribunals will also have the power to uplift sexual harassment compensation by up to 25% where an employer is found to have breached this new duty.
To be confirmed	Legislation will be introduced to make significant changes to paternity leave, allowing employees to take it within the first year after the birth of the baby, divide the leave into two blocks, and give 4 weeks’ notice of the dates on which leave is to be taken. Major changes planned for paternity leave
To be confirmed	A new statutory code on “fire and re-hire” to be introduced. Dismissal and re-engagement (fire and re-hire) toolkit
To be confirmed	New law prohibiting confidentiality clauses in contracts or settlement agreements from preventing disclosures to the police, regulated health and care or legal professionals to be introduced. Settlements and settlement agreements
To be confirmed	New law requiring confidentiality clauses to set out their limitations to be introduced. New confidentiality clause legislation confirmed
To be confirmed	New law to increase the break needed to end continuous employment from one week to four weeks to be introduced. Continuity of service
To be confirmed	Regulatory exemptions from requirements such as gender pay gap reporting will be extended to businesses with fewer than 500 employees; currently this applies to businesses with under 250 employees. Government promises to free growing businesses from red tape
To be confirmed	GDPR will be replaced with a ‘common sense’ data protection system. Further details of the proposed new scheme is yet to be released. Data protection
To be confirmed	A new law proposed by the government will limit the length of non-compete clauses to a maximum of three months. C hanges to EU derived law and non-compete clauses announced

HRInform – Jan-24

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At Consensus HR, we provide a range of Employment HR & Employment Law services for companies of all sizes and sectors.

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Keep people safe from future dangers of asbestos | Consensus HR - Herts, Beds

03 01 2024

Round-up of all the legal changes in January 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General @sg1, #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #legalchanges, #networkinbeds, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

2024 is set to be a busy year will plenty of legislative changes taking effect at various points throughout the year, with changes still being announced .

The Government has just announced that it is backtracking on the proposed increase from Spring 2024 to the salary required for family visas, and that the proposed increase to £38,700 will not now take place. Instead, they plan to initially set it at £29,000.

As the New Year fast approaches here is a reminder of what is happening in January 2024:

From 1st January 2024:

Covid holiday carry-over ends –

The emergency rules on annual leave which were implemented in 2020 meant that workers could carry over 4 weeks of leave into the next 2 leave years where it was not reasonably practicable for them to take it because of the effects of Covid. From 1 January 2024, this will be removed, but for any employees who have any “Covid carry over leave” accrued by that date but have not taken it, have until 31 March 2024 to use it.

Remaining rules on holiday carry-over continue –

Nothing actually changing here but as these rights derive from ECJ case law it has had to be added to our legislation to ensure that the status quo is maintained. There will continue, therefore, to be a right of carry-over in the following situations:
- Where a worker was unable to take holiday due to being on maternity leave or other family-friendly leave – can carry over 5.6 weeks to the following leave year.
- Where a worker was unable to take holiday due to sickness – can carry over 4 weeks of leave for 18 months after the end of the leave year in which the leave was accrued.

Legislation will be updated from 1st January 2024 –

To state that for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 employers can lawfully pro-rata holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers, and if they want to do so, can again use rolled-up holiday pay, but only for these types of workers. Remember that whilst the law will be updated in January, employers cannot actually make any changes until their next leave year starting on or after 1 April 2024.

From 16th January 2024, subject to parliamentary approval, the Immigration Health Surcharge is set to increase from £624 to £1,035.

Finally, from 22nd January 2024, if approved by parliament, the civil penalty when an employer is found to have employed foreign workers unlawfully, will increase:

To £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach.
To £60,000 for repeated breaches.

HR Inform – 22^nd December 2023

To view further information on Employment Law

At Consensus HR, we provide support when it comes to all areas of HR and Employment Law and full detailed information can be found by Clicking Here

Our HR advice / comments: Round-up of all the legal changes in January 2024 | Consensus Hr – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, BA (Hons), Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is another great article from our Chartered Institute through the HR inform service which highlights a number of changes in January 2024. Consensus HR previously wrote a blog that detailed planned and proposed Employment Law changes which are due to take place in 2024 and can be read in our blog section on our website and by Clicking Here. Consensus HR help companies have an outsourced HR dept at a fraction of the costs of having one in house and ensures their clients have access to a professional, best practice and legally compliant service.”

To view more about Employment Law, Click Here

At Consensus HR, we are fully qualified Employment Law Specialists with our Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development -CIPD and The Univerisity of Surrey and Barr Regulations Authority.

Contact us now

If you run a successful company but are unsure of what legal law and best practice is required for your team, give us a call now for a non-obligatory chat about Outsourced HR and what we can provide you and your team for future success of your business. Consensus HR | Helping companies outsource and manage their HR and Employment Law and Prevent People Problems – 01438 576750

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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Consensus HR | Outsourced HR & Employment Law

04 10 2023

UK migration advisers call for tighter foreign worker rules | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General, Recruitment @sg1, #consensushr, #foreign workers, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #networkinbeds, #outsourcing, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

The UK’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on Tuesday recommended abolishing one of the main routes for businesses to hire migrant workers in sectors where there are severe staff shortages, arguing that the current system was liable to drive down wages and leave workers open to exploitation. The so-called shortage occupation list (SOL) allows employers to pay foreigners 20% less than the going rate in jobs where there is deemed to be a shortage of workers. The MAC said scrapping the rules would help to prevent companies undercutting UK domestic worker pay rates and combat the exploitation of migrants. Despite its recommendation to abolish the rules, the MAC proposed adding eight occupations to the 2023 UK-wide list, including care workers, lab technicians, bricklayers, roofers and animal care services.

Financial Times

Reuters

The Daily Telegraph

Our HR comments: – UK migration advisers call for tighter foreign worker rules | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “It still seems to be the case that although we have low unemployment within the UK, certain sectors are still finding it very hard to recruit and as previously stated, my past industry sector, Hospitalities is still having major problems. This article demonstrates though that a current MAC scheme is having a very bad adverse effect on UK domestic workers which surely is not the right answer whilst no exploiting migrants?”

Contact us now

If your company is experiencing recruitment and employee problems and would like to discuss some available options to help you, give us a call now for a non-obligatory chat.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

For further information on any of the HR subjects we provide, please click the heading below:

Hunt sets out plan to shrink civil service | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

20 09 2023

Union calls for answers over Wilko pension deficit | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General, Redundancy @sg1, #outsourcing, #pensions, #redundancy, #wilko, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

The union representing Wilko workers has called on MPs to question Lisa Wilkinson on how her family, which received almost £100m in dividends in the decade before the retailer’s collapse, will plug the company’s multimillion-pound pension fund deficit. Sir Steve Webb said the pensions regulator “will be all over this and looking very closely at what happened.” Wilkinson previously defended the pay-outs and pointed to its £100m worth of assets and a bank balance of £58m at the time. She told the Times that the board had “checked… there was sufficient cash, we went through the right governance, the auditors checked it off,” adding that what the family had taken out “really wouldn’t have made a difference.” Meanwhile, Wilko’s administrators, PwC, said on Tuesday that 111 more stores will close this week.

The Times

London Evening Standard

The Sun

Our HR comment and advice: – Union calls for answers over Wilko pension deficit | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Since this was first announced in the news, we have followed this situation and a few of our blogs on the subject can be seen below. It is very sad when any business folds and especially when it is such a well know brand as Wilkos. As written throughout, a range of buyers were found but unfortunately for various reasons none were successful, and the business has been broken up and the name sold and now it has been published that there is a pension deficit! My thoughts are with the employees who many worked continually whilst a new buyer was found and who now are going to be made redundant with what I believe in the circumstances will only be statutory redundancy and now questions over their Pension. I wish all of them the best in finding a new role within retail with hopefully ‘The Range’ and other retailers who have already expressed an interest in parts of the business.”

Here are a few of our previous blogs written on the subject:

Wilko administrators urged to consider bids that save jobs | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds
Wilko collapses into administration | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds
Redundancy & Maternity Leave. What is the law?
Redundancy

Contact us now

If your business is facing difficult times and believe you may have to make major changes to the structure, then gives us a call now to help you work to best practice and the law.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

For further information on any of the HR subjects we provide, please click the heading below:

BP to review personal relationships following Looney departure | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

14 09 2023

New report warns of costly impact of illness on UK economy | Consensus HR- Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Absence Management, Blog, Employment Law, General, Health & Safety @sg1, #Health&Safety, #illness, #outsourcing, #sickness, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

The level of illness among the UK population is costing lives and harming the economy, according to a new report. An additional 491,433 people were off work due to their health in the three months to July, reaching a record high. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warns that the issue has become a “serious fiscal threat” to the UK. The think tank attributed the rise in illness to long NHS waiting lists and other barriers to accessing treatment. The IPPR report also highlighted the decline in the quality of healthcare in the UK compared to other European countries, and called for urgent reforms to improve healthcare services and save taxpayers up to £205bn over a decade. Lord Bethell, former health minister and commissioner, emphasized the need for action to reduce demand for healthcare through prevention. Downing Street has acknowledged the need for improvements in tackling long-term sickness and announced a £3.5bn package of measures to support people with disabilities or health conditions to enter the workforce. However, concerns have been raised that these reforms could force people into jobs when they are not well enough.

Sky News

Our HR comment: – New report warns of costly impact of illness on UK economy

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is a very worrying article on Sky News and we wrote about this a while ago when a similar article was published in the press. Long term sick is a problem for many companies and must be managed correctly with the use of medical professionals. This process can be very time consuming but employers need to ensure that they manage it properly for the benefit of the employee and the business along with healthy working practices helping to ensure that when the team are working, it is in a healthy environment. At Consensus HR, we have managed many ill health cases at work through the use of good practice and our Occupational Health providers to get workers back into work the best way for them and their health and the success of the business”

Contact us now

If you have long term sickness within your business and would like to talk to somebody about the best way to manage it to best practice and the law, give us a call now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

For further information on any of the HR subjects we provide, please click the heading below:

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