UK employment law changes in 2024 that businesses need to be aware of

UK employment law changes in 2024 that businesses need to be aware of

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With a wide range of updates to UK employment law being made in 2024, Members need to be up to speed with what is changing and when.

Around 10 legal changes are being made to the laws covering businesses which employ staff, and the human resources experts at Croner have offered a summary to help companies keep track of what they need to know.

Revisions and new legislation relates to many aspects of employment law, including an updated flexible working system, new rights to take carer's leave, updated paternity leave rules, new protections for pregnant employees during redundancy, plus increased statutory sick pay an National Living Wage rates.

Find an overview of confirmed and proposed employment changes from the UK Government below.

For queries on employment law, call Croner on 0800 470 2585 or visit the website.

Confirmed changes

These legal changes have been confirmed by the UK Government, but may not yet have an exact implementation date.

Working time and holiday

A requirement to keep records of daily working time is removed; the effect of emergency Covid legislation on annual leave carry-over ends; case law position on a weeks' pay and annual leave carry-over during sickness and statutory leave committed to law.

When? 1 January 2024

Illegal workers

Fines payable by employers who employ illegal workers will increase. The fine for a first breach is currently £15,000, but this is set to increase to £45,000 per illegal worker. For repeated breaches, the fine will increase from £20,000 up to £60,000.

When? 13 February 2024

National Living Wage

The National Living Wage threshold will be lowered to include 21-year-olds. The rate will be £11.44/hour. The rate for those aged 18-20 will be £8.60/hour; the rate for those over school age but not yet 18 will be £6.40/hour; the apprentice rate will be £6.40/hour.

When? For pay reference periods starting on or after 1 April 2024

Working time and holiday

A new method is now in place to calculate holiday entitlement for irregular-hours workers and part-year workers. Rolled-up holiday pay will be lawful again.

When? For new leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024

Carer's leave

Under the Carer's Leave Act 2023, employees with defined caring responsibilities will have a right to take up to one working week of unpaid leave per 12 months in relation to those responsibilities.

When? 6 April 2024

Flexible working

Qualifying employees will, via the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, be able to make a flexible working request from the first day of employment. Other changes, including an increase in the number of requests per 12-month period from one to two, and a reduction in the timeframe to conclude the process from three months to two months, will also come into effect.

When? 6 April 2024

Redundancy and pregnancy

Under the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023, pregnant employees have enhanced rights when faced with redundancy which continues until 18 months after the birth. The enhanced treatment will also apply to adoption and shared parental leave arrangements.

When? 6 April 2024

Paternity Leave

Under the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024, the paternity leave system will become more flexible. Employees will be able to take two separate weeks of leave within a year of the birth/adoption and will only need to give 28 days' notice of taking leave.

When? When the expected week of birth is after 6 April 2024 or when the expected date of adoption placement is on or after 6 April 2024

Statutory payments

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will increase to £116.75/week; Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and other family leave payments including statutory paternity pay etc will increase to £184.03/week.

When? 6 April 2024 for SSP; 7 April 2024 for SMP etc

Tribunal compensation limits

The maximum week's pay for redundancy pay purposes increases to £700/week; statutory guarantee pay increases to £38/day and maximum unfair dismissal compensatory award increases to £115,115.

When? 6 April 2024

Transfer of undertakings

The requirement to consult with elected representatives, where none exist, on a transfer for businesses with fewer than 50 employees, and for businesses of any size when a transfer affects fewer than 10 employees, will be removed.

When? 1 July 2024

Tips

Hospitality, leisure and service employers, under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, will be required to fairly allocate tips to staff in line with a statutory code of practice, and have a policy explaining allocation.

When? Expected 1 July 2024

Fire and re-hire

A new statutory code of practice on "fire and re-hire" will be introduced. It will set out the expected procedure for employers to follow when contemplating dismissals for employees who do not agree to changes to their terms and conditions.

When? Summer 2024

Neonatal care leave

Under the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, parents of babies who are admitted to hospital before 28 days old and for at least one week will get a maximum of 12 weeks leave, paid at the statutory rate, in addition to maternity/paternity leave.

When? Expected October 2024 at the earliest

Harassment

A duty for employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment will be introduced. Employers will have to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment in their organisation.

When? October 2024

Stable and predictable contracts

Workers with unpredictable working hours, or a fixed-term contract of less than 12 months, will have a right to request a more stable and predictable contract after 26 weeks' service.

When? Expected Autumn 2024

Proposals

These changes have been proposed but have not yet been finalised. This means they may or may not happen.

Bullying

The Bullying and Respect at Work Bill proposes to introduce a statutory definition of bullying and the ability for employees to bring a standalone claim for bullying in a tribunal.

Gender pay gap

Regulatory exemptions from requirements such as gender pay gap reporting will be extended to businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

GDPR

GDPR will be replaced with a "common sense" data protection system.

Non-compete clauses

The duration of post-termination non-compete clauses will be limited to three months.

Upcoming webinars

Croner offers HR, employment law, and health & safety services, which can be accessed for free as a benefit of AIC Membership.

Free webinars are available to sign up to, covering a range of HR, and health and safety topics. Members can also request a free same-day call back for more complex queries.

Members can view the webinars available in April 2024 and find out how to book, click below.

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