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HR and Employment Law Update 2024
Published: February 27 2024
2024 looks to be an exciting year for employment law and HR changes, although we appreciate this is not necessarily the news employers want to hear. It will not be a surprise that there will be the usual increases to National Minimum and Living Wage and Family Payments, but alongside these updates there are some key legislative developments which will impact the way we work within HR.
We summarise the upcoming employment law changes below in our employment law update 2024.
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Pay costs – National Minimum/Living Wage
From 1 April 2024 note a change in the age bracket and applicable rate of pay. The current age brackets 21 to 22 and 23 and over will be removed*, replaced with one range, 21 years and over.
The following rates will apply:
23 and over*: Current – £10.42 New 21 and over – £11.44
21 to 22*: Current – £10.18 New 21 and over – £11.44
18 to 20: Current – £7.49 New – £8.60
Under 18: Current – £5.28 New – £6.40
Apprentice: Current – £5.28 New – £6.40
These are significant pay increases, reflecting steep inflation levels and ongoing cost of living increases.
Family friendly leave
The Government has published its proposals for pay rates for family leave to be applied from April 2024. There will be an increase in the following family payments:
- Statutory maternity pay
- Statutory paternity pay
- Statutory adoption pay
- Statutory shared parental pay
- Statutory parental bereavement pay
The rates will increase from £172.48 per week, to £184.03 per week.
Paternity leave
Whilst there are no changes proposed to shared parental leave and unpaid parental leave, the draft regulations, known as the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024, are intended to make changes to how statutory entitlement to paternity leave is managed.
Currently in draft form but unlikely to change, these will come into force on 8 March 2024 and will apply to babies whose expected week of birth begins after 6 April 2024 and to children whose expected week of adoption is on or after 6 April 2024.
In particular, there will be changes to:
- the notice requirements;
- the timeframe within which leave must be taken; and
- the need for paternity leave to be taken in a single block will be removed.
The draft regulations seek to amend the current position by allowing those eligible to:
- have more flexibility by taking the leave in either a two-week block or in two separate one-week blocks, which do not have to be taken consecutively;
- have longer to take their leave, as they propose to allow fathers or partners to take their leave within the first year after the birth or adoption of their child; and
- take the leave with less notice by shortening the notice period required for each block of leave to four weeks
The amending regulations are currently in draft form.
Employers may need to update their paternity leave policies, and people managers may need updating on the new rights. If you need any advice or support please contact a member of the Kent HR team.
Sick pay
From April 2024, statutory sick pay will increase from £109.40 per week, to £116.75 per week.
The increase may have a knock-on effect on employers who offer enhanced or company sick pay schemes.
Flexible working
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act was passed on 20 July 2023 and is anticipated to come into force throughout 2024. Key provisions in this act include:
- As of 6 April, the right to make a formal flexible working request will become a day one right for employees removing the current requirement for an employee to have at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the date of their request.
Expected to come into force in July 2024:
- Employees will no longer have to explain what effect their requested change may have on the employer and how any such effect might be dealt with.
- Employees will be entitled to make two requests (instead of one) in any 12-month period.
- Employers will not be able to refuse a request unless the employee has been consulted.
- Employers will have to make a decision in two months (reduced from three months), subject to agreeing a longer decision period.
The six grounds on which an employer can refuse a request remain the same.
Note that the right is to request flexible working, not a right to flexible working.
Kent HR can help you prepare for these changes and ensure that you have the correct policies and procedures in place. If you would like help to implement or update your flexible working documentation to take account of these changes or for any further advice on them, speak to our team.
Carer's leave
The Carers Leave Act was passed on 24 May 2023, and it is not anticipated to come into force before April 2024.
Similarly to the change in Flexible Working, this Act will also introduce a day one right for one week’s unpaid leave per year for employees that provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
Dependants include partners, children, parents, people living in the same house as the employees and people who reasonably rely on the employee.
This leave can be taken as partial or full days and can be taken flexibly at different times to suit an individual’s caring responsibilities, consecutively or non-consecutively.
Employers should be aware that following this Act coming into force employees will be protected from dismissal or detriment due to taking this leave. If an employer dismisses an employee because of this leave, it will be an automatic unfair dismissal.
If you need help amending your existing policy, or perhaps you don’t have one, Kent HR can provide you with advice and guidance, template documents assisting you to ensure you are compliant with the changes. Get in touch with one of Kent HR’s consultants.
Redundancy protection for pregnancy and family leave
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act was passed on 24 May 2023 and will come into force on the 6 April 2024.
Previously, in a redundancy process an employer has an obligation to offer those on maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave suitable alternative employment (if it exists) as a priority over other employees provisionally selected for redundancy. Failure to do so being automatically unfair.
This Act will expand the entitlement to be offered suitable alternative employment where a vacancy exists from notification of the pregnancy (on or after the 6 April 2024) for a period up to 18 months after birth or adoption. Those taking shared parental leave will only be eligible for the additional protection if they take six or more consecutive weeks of shared parental leave.
This will likely be particularly relevant to redundancy exercises where existing roles are removed but there is scope for some employees to remain employed in suitable alternative roles, as more people will qualify for priority treatment in those situations.
It is important that you are aware of the extended protections and take these into account if you are contemplating redundancies.
For more advice or guidance in regard to Pregnancy, Family Leave or Redundancy, contact the Kent HR team.
Tip allocation
The Employment Allocation of Tips Act was passed on May 2023 and is expected to come into force in July 2024.
Under the Act employers will have a duty to ensure that all of the qualifying tips are allocated fairly to workers (including agency workers) and that employers make payment in full no later than by the end of the month in which the tip was paid. Alternatively, if it is fair, an employer can pay the tips to an ‘independent tronc operator’ (a body acting independently of the employer) who will then allocate to workers.
Employers are to have a written policy on how to deal with tips and are to keep a record of tips received and how they have been allocated.
The government has launched a consultation on a draft statutory code of practice to provide guidance to employers and workers.
Harassment
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023 and is expected to come into force in October 2024.
This Act introduced a new duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of its employees during the course of their employment.
The Act also gives employment tribunals the power to uplift sexual harassment compensation by up to 25% where an employer is found to have breached the new duty to prevent sexual harassment.
This new positive obligation means it is even more important to show meaningful action to safeguard employees against harassment. You should therefore familiarise yourself with the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees. If you need help to review existing policies and practices around sexual harassment and how you may communicate these changes and what training, you should offer to staff contact Kent HR to discuss how we can support you.
Workers (Predictable terms and conditions) Act 2023
Expected to come into force in September 2024, this will introduce a new statutory right for workers (including agency workers) with at least 26 weeks’ service to request a more predictable working pattern.
Be aware of the minimum service requirement of 26 weeks to access the right and the statutory grounds upon which an application may be rejected.
Working time regulations, Holiday pay and TUPE
The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 changes to holiday pay, TUPE and working times:
- Enabling rolled-up holiday pay for irregular hours and part-year workers
- A basis for holiday accrual for irregular hours and part-year workers, based on 12.07% of the hours worked in the previous pay period.
- Simplifying record-keeping requirements to maintain the requirement to keep “adequate” records, but this doesn’t necessarily need to be a full record of daily working hours
- Restating in legislation the ability to ‘carry-over’ holiday in certain situations. As a general rule, statutory holiday can only be taken in the leave year to which it relates on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis. However, with effect from January, amendments were made to the Working Time Regulations which provide for holiday to be carried forward into the next leave year in certain circumstances.
- TUPE consultation policies for smaller businesses (those with fewer than 50 employees) Allows consultation directly with employees (where no existing representatives) where the organisation has fewer than 50 employees, or fewer than 10 employees will transfer.
Employers should make sure they update their practices and policies to be in line with these changes including the carry-forward of leave.
Contact Kent HR to discuss how these changes impact your business and what they mean for you in practice.
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Victoria Abbott
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Ruth Epps
Key contact/s
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Get in touch
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Further support
It is clear this is going to be a year of change and the Brachers Employment Team and Kent HR Consultants will continue to update as developments occur. For more in-depth guidance or support on the issues covered in our employment law update 2024, get in touch with our experienced team of HR professionals who can guide you and assist you.
Our team at Kent HR are on hand to provide guidance and practical HR assistance as and when you need us, in a way that suits your business. We support clients across a range of industries and with experience gained across various businesses and industries, trust Kent HR to help you succeed.
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