What's coming up? Quarterly horizon scan

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What's coming up? Quarterly horizon scan

What's coming up? Quarterly horizon scan

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March 12, 2024

April is a busy month for employment law changes. Make sure you are ready for:

increases in the national minimum wage rates;
the overhaul of the flexible working regime, including the right to request flexible working becoming a day one right;
extended protection from redundancy for pregnant employees and those returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave;
the introduction of a week's unpaid leave for carers; and
changes to the statutory paternity leave scheme.


Legislation	Summary	Timescale	What can you do to prepare?
Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023	These came into force on 1 January 2024. Amongst other things, they permit rolled-up holiday pay for irregular hours and part-year workers.	Changes to holiday accrual and pay for part-year and irregular hours workers apply to leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024.	Decide if you wish to utilise the option of rolled-up holiday pay and, if so, identify part-year and irregular hours workers. Plan how you will communicate and consult on the proposed changes to these workers' terms where necessary.
National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2024 and National Minimum Wage (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2024	Remove the exemption from national minimum wage for live-in domestic workers and increase the national minimum wages rates.	Coming into force on 1 April 2024.	Ensure your payroll team are ready to apply the increases in national minimum wages rates from 1 April. Our recent blog contains details of the new rates.
The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023	Removes the 26-week minimum service requirement for making a flexible working request. This will become a day one right.	Coming into force on 6 April 2024.	Update your flexible working policy to remove the requirement for 26 weeks' continuous service before making a flexible working request. Familiarise yourself with the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Act) 2023, as detailed below.
Employment Relations (Flexible Working Act) 2023	Amends the flexible working provisions to allow for two requests per year rather than one; removes the need for employees to explain the effect on the business of their request; reduces the time period for employers to make decisions to two months; and provides that requests cannot be refused without consultation with the employee.	Coming into force on 6 April 2024 (despite initial indications it would be July 2024).	Take a look at the upcoming updated Acas draft code of best practice on dealing with flexible working provisions. Update your flexible working policy to reflect the changes. Note that this remains a right to request rather than a default right to flexible working.
Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023	Provides for the extension of existing redundancy protections whilst on maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave to also cover pregnancy and a period of time after returning to work from family leave. Redundancy protections will start when an employee tells their employer about their pregnancy (on or after 6 April 2024). Where the employee is entitled to, and takes, maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, the protected period will end 18 months after the expected week of childbirth/date of placement. 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.	Coming into force on 6 April 2024.	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 you are aware of the extended protections and take these into account if you are contemplating redundancies.
Carer's Leave Act 2023	Creates a new statutory unpaid leave entitlement for employees caring for a dependant with long-term care needs.	Coming into force on 6 April 2024.	Familiarise yourself with the relevant definitions, including what classifies as "long-term care" and a "dependant", and that there is no requirement to provide evidence of purpose. Be aware that there is no minimum service requirement – employees are entitled to take unpaid carer's leave from day one of employment. Be aware that employees are entitled to one week's unpaid leave per year and be aware of how that leave may be taken (i.e. half days, block of days etc.). Be aware that employees are protected from detriment and dismissal where the reason is that they took (or are requesting to take) carer's leave. Consider how you will handle any personal data relating to caring responsibilities and associated GDPR implications for both employees and the adult for whom they are caring.
Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024	Amend the statutory paternity leave framework to: allow fathers and partners to take their leave and pay in two non-consecutive week blocks; give fathers and partners flexibility to take their leave and pay at any point in the first year after their child's birth/adoption; shorten the notice required for each period of leave and pay to 28 days (except for domestic adoptions where the notice period remains within seven days of a matching notice); and allow fathers and partners to vary their initial notice of dates by giving 28 days' notice of the change.	Came into force on 8 March 2024 and apply to children whose expected week of birth is after 6 April 2024 and children whose expected date of placement for adoption/date of entry into Great Britain for adoption is on or after 6 April 2024.	Update your paternity leave and pay policy to reflect these changes.
Trade Union Act 2016 (Commencement No 6) Regulations 2023 and Trade Union (Deduction of Union Subscription from Wages in the Public Sector) Regulations 2023	Bring into force the restriction on trade union check-off in the public sector. Relevant public sector employers will only be able to operate a check-off system if: affected workers may pay their trade union subscription by another means; and arrangements are in place for the trade union to make a reasonable payment to the employer for operating the check-off system.	Coming into force on 9 May 2024.	Familiarise yourself with the Cabinet Office guidance. It recommends that affected public sector employers seek written confirmation from unions of the alternative payment methods they offer to members. It also contains guidance on how to determine the "reasonable cost" of operating a check-off system.
Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023	Requires employers to ensure that all tips and service charges are allocated fairly between their workers (including agency workers).	Expected to come into force on 1 July 2024.	Assess your current procedures for handling tips and service charges and ensure they will be compliant with the new requirements. The government's consultation on the draft statutory code of practice, to provide guidance to employers and workers, closed on 22 February. We anticipate the Code will come into effect at the same time as the substantive provisions of this Act.
Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023	Introduces a new statutory right for workers (including agency workers) with at least 26 weeks' service to request a more predictable working pattern.	Expected to come into force in September 2024.	Take a look at the Acas draft code of practice on dealing with requests for a 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.
Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023	Introduces a positive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Tribunals will have the power to award an uplift in compensation for harassment of up to 25% where it finds an employer has breached this duty. This is an addition to the current position where employers may defend a claim (and avoid all liability) by proving that they had taken all reasonable steps to prevent harassment.	Expected to come into force in October 2024.	Familiarise yourself with the duty the Act will introduce for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Review existing policies and practices around sexual harassment and offer training to staff on any updated policies. This new positive obligation means it is even more important to show meaningful action to safeguard employees against harassment.
Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023	Creates a statutory right to paid leave of between one and 12 weeks (in addition to other family leave) for a parent where their child has received, or is receiving, neonatal care.	Expected to come into force in April 2025.	Familiarise yourself with the four conditions that must be satisfied for a person to be entitled to statutory neonatal care leave. Consider if you wish to enhance the statutory level of neonatal care pay if you offer enhanced pay for other forms of family leave.
Seafarers Wages Act 2023	Requires that "non-qualifying seafarers" working on ships that use UK ports at least 120 times a year must be paid a rate at least equivalent to the national minimum wage. The government launched the first part of a consultation on draft regulations and guidance in November 2023, which closed in December 2023. It covered various procedural matters around declarations of national minimum wage compliance, administration of surcharges and refusal of harbour access. The second consultation opened on 15 February and closes on 14 March 2024. This covers detail of the wage rates payable and surcharges for failure to provide a declaration of compliance.	Second consultation closes 14 March, so government response should be published in next few months with the enforcement regime to come into force later this year.	Keep an eye out for the government's response to the second consultation.
Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023	Provides Secretary of State with the power to reduce the lower age threshold for automatic enrolment into a pension scheme from 22 to 18.	No date yet for this to come into force.	Watch out for our updates on these provisions coming into force.

We will continue to provide updates and practical guidance on how to best navigate these changes on our blog.

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