Family friendly changes: 2024 will see two pieces of new legislation and a third set for 2025, with the aim of creating a fairer workplace for families.

Flexible and Predictable Working

Under the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, employees will:

• have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment, rather than the current requirement of 26 weeks.
• will be able to make two requests in any 12-month period, rather than the current limit of one request in any 12-month period.
• will no longer have to explain to the business, the effect the changes they are requesting will have on the business and, employers will need to make a decision on a flexible working request within two months, rather than three.

Regulations implementing these changes will come into force on 6 April 2024 and are aimed at making flexible working more accessible for employees.

It is worth noting however, that the eight lawful reasons under which an employer can lawfully refuse a request will remain unchanged.

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023

Coming into force on 6 April 2024, this Act increases the current laws protecting pregnant employees or those on, or returning from, maternity/adoption/shared parental leave when facing possible redundancy.

Currently, employees on maternity/adoption/shared parental leave have enhanced protections in redundancy situations, including the right to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy over other employees at risk, where a vacancy is available.

The Act will increase this protection to include pregnant employees, from the moment they notify their employer of their pregnancy, through to 18 months after childbirth.

Carer’s Leave Act 2023

From 6th April 2024, this Act will grant a new entitlement of one week of unpaid leave annually, for employees who care for dependants with long term needs. The right to leave will be available to all employees from day one of employment. For the avoidance of doubt, “long term needs” are defined as:

• Anyone with a condition that meets the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010;
• Illness or injury (either physical or mental) which requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months, or;
• Old age.

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023

Previously sanctioned in 2023, the Neonatal Care (leave and pay) Act is expected to come into force in April 2025. The Act will grant parents of new-born babies who are hospitalised in their first 28 days of life for 7 days or more, the right to take neonatal leave and pay for up to 12 weeks.

This new legislation ensures that parents are able to spend more time with their babies having crucial care, without the concerns of taking unpaid leave, or returning to work.

Parents who take neonatal leave and pay will also be entitled to return to the same job after their period of absence.

Protection from Harassment – The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023

Coming into force in October 2024, this piece of employment law will revise the Equality Act 2010 in order to present employers with a duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. In essence, this means employers will have a new, proactive duty, to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

The aim of the legislation being to place greater responsibility on employers to make their workplaces a safer environment for all of their workforce.

The legislation will be supplemented by a new statutory code of practice, being produced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Where sexual harassment cases reach the employment tribunal, the tribunal will have the power to uplift compensation by up to 25%, where an employer is found to have breached this new duty and have been determined by the tribunal to have failed to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

The determination of what ‘reasonable steps’ may be is likely to develop over time as case law becomes more widespread.

The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023

To increase protections for workers, this Act is aimed at increasing certainty for gig economy workers around working patterns, by introducing a right for workers and agency workers to request more predictable terms and conditions of work.

Holiday pay, working time and TUPE – The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023

With the aim of streamlining and simplifying the law in these areas, the regulations will impact holiday pay and annual leave, working time and rights/obligations under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE).

In respect of holiday pay and annual leave; the regulations will make rolled up holiday pay (at an accrual rate of 12.07%) lawful for irregular hours, or part-year workers. The idea is to make it simpler for employers when calculating holiday entitlement for such workers and to ensure that worker holiday entitlement better reflects the hours they actually work, across a year.

Previously, holiday pay and annual leave for irregular hours and part time workers was calculated by way of a 52-week reference period, which may not be practical in many cases where hours and periods of work are variable. Employers will in future, have discretion to choose whether to calculate holiday entitlements by way of a reference period, or, by applying a rate of 12.07% to the workers’ earnings during any pay period.

The regulations also reaffirm various pieces of retained EU law following Brexit.

The regulations relating to Working Time, will remove the requirement for employers to keep records relating to working hours and rest periods. However, as employers will need to demonstrate compliance with the regulations in other ways, it is not clear currently, what the real impact of this change will be. The aim of these changes will be to reduce reporting requirements for employers, which the government consider “time consuming”.

In short, with regard to TUPE, the regulations will allow businesses with either, less than 50 employees, or transfers involving less than 10 employees, to consult with employees directly, without undertaking collective consolation as part of the transfer process. This change is designed to streamline the TUPE transfer process, where small transfers are taking place.