Legislation comes into force to expand the category of people who can sign fit notes for SSP purposes. The DWP has published guidance.
Key dates for Employment law
2022
July
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Mental health and well-being
The Department for Health and Social Care’s call for evidence on improving mental health and well-being closed today.
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Gender critical belief – finding of discrimination
Essential Reading: Our InsightWe now have an indication of the approach the courts will take as the Forstater case returned to the Employment Tribunal (ET) earlier this year for a hearing on the merits and the decision was handed down this week.
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Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill
The government has announced it is backing a Private Members Bill which makes provision about leave and pay for employees with responsibility for children receiving neonatal care.
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Tips and gratuities
The government announced it is backing this Private Members’ Bill to ensure that tips, gratuities and services charges paid by customers are allocated to workers.
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Part-year workers favoured in Supreme Court holiday pay ruling
Essential Reading: Our InsightThe Supreme Court looks at how holiday pay should be calculated for someone who works part of the year but has a permanent contract.
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Agency workers to replace striking workers
Legislation has come into effect today allowing agency workers to replace striking workers.
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Employment Status
Further ReadingThe government has published the long-awaited response to the consultation on employment status following the Taylor Review in 2017, and confirmed there will be no legislative change. New (non-statutory) guidance on employment status has however been published.
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Barrister with gender critical beliefs discriminated against by Chambers
Essential Residential: Our InsightIn what has become an increasingly polarised debate, an employment tribunal has found that the barrister, Allison Bailey was discriminated against by her Chambers, Garden Court, because of her gender critical beliefs.
August
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Fire and re-hire
Draft statutory code of practice due to be published for consultation during the Summer.
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HM Treasury published a consultation on proposals (together with draft guidance) to introduce new administrative controls for public sector exit payments over £95,000
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Race Disparity Unit’s consultation on new standards for ethnicity data closes
This sets out best practice for government departments or public bodies when collecting, analysing and reporting ethnicity data but is also helpful for anyone in the private sector interested in doing this.
September
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Evidence on crypto assets
Closing date for written submissions to be made to the Treasury Committee call for evidence on crypto assets.
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The “Brexit Freedoms” Bill
All retained EU law will be amended, repealed or replaced by 31 December 2023 under the Brexit Freedoms Bill introduced by the government unless it takes specific steps to preserve it. This could impact EU-derived regulations such as the Working Time Regulations, TUPE and the Agency Workers Regulations.
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Bankers bonuses
The government announced that the PRA will remove the current cap on bankers’ bonuses. The date this will happen isn’t yet known.
October
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Red tape reform
The government plans to widen the exemptions for small businesses from certain regulations and reporting requirements to capture businesses with fewer than 500 employees. More details are awaited, but the revised threshold applies from 3 October to all new regulations under development as well as those under current and future review.
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Consultation on new controls process for public sector payments over £95,000 closes
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Carer’s Leave Bill
The government has announced it is backing a Private Members’ Bill which makes provision for unpaid leave for employees with caring responsibilities.
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Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill
The government has announced it is backing the Private Members Bill which makes provision for protection from redundancy during or after pregnancy or after periods of maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
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Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010)
The government has announced it is supporting the Private Members Bill which creates employer’s liability for harassment of their employees by third parties.
November
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Flexible working
The government confirmed it is supporting this Private Members’ Bill which makes provision for the right of employees and other workers to request variations to particular terms and conditions of employment, including working hours, times and locations.
December
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Exclusivity clauses
Regulations come into force that make exclusivity clauses unenforceable in non-zero hours contracts for low-income workers (i.e. those earning less than £123 per week). These are clauses which seek to restrict workers from working with multiple employers. Employees will be protected from dismissal and detriment for breaching an exclusivity clause.
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Flexible working
The government published its response to the consultation last year on proposals to amend the right to request flexible working to better support employers and employees. It will make the right to request flexible working a day one right; allow employees to make two requests within 12 months and reduce the time for response from three to two months. Primary legislation is required but the government has also said it will be supporting the existing Private Members Bill – see 7 November.
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Holiday Pay
The Supreme Court will be hearing an appeal against the finding that a claim for unlawful deduction from wages for unpaid holiday pay is not broken by a gap of three months (Chief Constable Northern Ireland v Agnew).
2023
January
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Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) introduced to Parliament
This will set minimum service levels in certain sectors (including health, transport and education). Employers in those sectors will be able to identify workers required to work during a strike.
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ICO consultation on draft guidance for monitoring at work ends
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Menopause
The government rejects key recommendation of the Women and Equalities Report and will not seek to make menopause a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
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Dismissal and re-engagement
The government published a consultation on a draft Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement where it is used to try and change terms and conditions of employment. It sets out the steps employers should take to explore alternatives to dismissal and to engage in meaningful consultation.
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ICO consultation on draft guidance on information about workers’ health ends
Further Reading
February
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Predictable terms and conditions Bill
The government has announced that it is backing a Private Members Bill to give workers and agency workers the right to request more predictable terms and conditions of work.
April
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National Minimum Wage
The National Living Wage for those 23 and over will increase from £9.50 to £10.42; the NMW for those aged 21-22 will increase from £9.18 to £10.18; NMW for those aged 18 – 20 will increase from £6.83 to £7.49 and for those aged 16 – 17 from £4.81 to £5.28.
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SMP and SSP
Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Parental Bereavement pay will increase from £156.66 to £172.48 per week and Statutory Sick Pay will increase from £99.35 to £109.40 per week.
May
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Extra bank holiday to celebrate coronation of Charles III
