The Government has been busy over the last couple of weeks, with 10 new fact sheets issued and four consultations commenced on the various provisions of the Employment Rights Bill announced on 10 October 2024.
Fact Sheets
Fact sheets have been issued on the following topics:
- Overview of Employment Rights Bill
- Unfair Dismissal
- Bereavement, Paternity and Unpaid Parental Leave
- Fair Work Agency
- Fire and Rehire
- Statutory Sick Pay
- Trade Unions
- Zero Hours Contracts
- School Support Staff Negotiating Body
- Adult Social Care Negotiating Body
Whilst the Bill may of course be subject to change as it progresses through Parliament, and following the consultations set out below, these fact sheets provide a helpful overview of the proposed changes as they currently stand, including a statement of policy intent for each area.
Consultations
The consultations set out below run until 2 December 2024, or 4 December 2024 in the case of the consultation on Statutory Sick Pay. Anyone with an interest in these areas is encouraged to review and comment where relevant.
Zero hours contracts
This consultation seeks views on how the proposed measures relating to guaranteed hours and payment for cancelled or curtailed shifts will apply to agency workers. This is likely to be of interest to any employer who uses agency workers, as well as to employment agencies and can be found here.
Collective redundancy and fire and rehire
Consultation paper number 2 can be found here. This paper seeks views on matters including:
- An extension to the period of collective consultation for redundancies of 100 or more employees from 45 to 90 days
- An increase to the maximum protective award from the current 90 days’ pay to 180 days, or to remove the cap entirely, with the amount of the award left to the Employment Tribunal’s discretion
- Whether interim relief (ie the payment of damages prior to a final hearing) should be available to employees who claim unfair dismissal following a fire and rehire process
Trade Unions
The 3rd consultation seeks views on a number of proposed updates to trade union legislation, including balloting requirements, access to the workplace and the period of the mandate for industrial action. This consultation can be found here.
Statutory Sick Pay – SSP
The 4th consultation asks for views on what the level of SSP should be for lower earners who do not meet the current lower earnings limit of £123 per week. The proposal is that this should be set at a percentage of the individual’s earnings, and the Government gives illustrative examples of between 60-80%. The consultation paper can be found here.
As always, if you have any questions about employment law, including what these proposed changes may mean for your business, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Employment Team.
Contact Details
Gemma.Sherbourne@tyrlaw.co.uk +44 (0)7535 652758 +44 (0)113 521 7556
