Employment Law update – changes in 2025

One of the key areas set for a shake up in 2025 is employment law, following the coming into power of the new Labour Government and the proposals for the Employment Rights Bill set out in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024. Employers will need to keep an eye on legislative changes and be prepared to amend working practices and policies accordingly. Here is a brief run down of what has already changed in employment law in 2024 and what changes look likely to be proposed in the Employment Rights Bill.

Changes that have already been implemented

1. Flexible working – The right to request flexible working became a right from day one of employment on 6 April 2024 (Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023). The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 was also brought into force and this made the following changes to the flexible working regime:

• Employees may make two requests a year
• Employees no longer have to explain in their request what effect their requested change may have on the employer and how any such effect might be dealt with
• Employers must consult the employee before refusing their request
• Employers must make a decision on a request (subject to agreeing a longer decision period) including any appeal within two months.

2. Unpaid carers leave –The Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 came into force on 6 April 2024. They introduced a new statutory right to take one week’s unpaid carer’s leave for eligible employees in England, Wales and Scotland. An employee may take one week’s unpaid leave to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need in each rolling 12-month period Leave may be taken for . a ‘dependant’ who has:

• a physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months

• a disability (as defined in the Equality Act 2010)

• care needs because of their old age

The dependant does not have to be a family member. It can be anyone who relies on the employee for care. Even if the employee has more than one dependant, they can only take one week’s unpaid leave per year, it is not a week per dependent.

3. Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave –The Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force on 6 April 2024. The Regulations provide that:

• A mother now has additional redundancy protection during her pregnancy, maternity leave, and for 18 months after childbirth (even if she returns to work earlier). Where the protected period covers pregnancy, the new rules would apply where the employee notified their employer of their pregnancy on or after 6 April 2024. The rules apply to maternity leave ending on or after 6 April 2024.
  
• There are similar provisions for:
  
  • Adoption leave ending on or after 6 April 2024 – the additional protection ends the day after a period of 18 months beginning with the day the child is placed with the employee for adoption.
  • Shared parental leave of six weeks or more starting on or after 6 April 2024 – for those taking six or more consecutive weeks of shared parental leave, who have not taken a period of maternity or adoption leave, the additional protected period ends 18 months after the date of the child’s birth or placement, or date they enter the UK.
    
• An employee benefiting from this extended redundancy protection is not excluded from being selected for redundancy. However, if there are any suitable and appropriate vacancies, the employer must offer them to the protected individual before they are offered to other employees who have been selected for redundancy. If they do not do so and dismiss the protected employee, the dismissal automatically unfair.

4. Paternity leave

The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 apply from 6 April 2024 and provide:

• Fathers/partners can take paternity leave at any point in the first year after birth/adoption
• They can break their two-week paternity leave entitlement into two one-week blocks if they wish
• The notice requirements are partially relaxed for birth cases. An employee must give the employer notice of their entitlement to take paternity leave (in or before the 15th week before the EWC or, if it is not reasonably practicable to do so, as soon as is reasonably practicable). The employee must give 28 days’ notice of each block of paternity leave.

5. TUPE consultation duties relaxed

The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 made changes to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) to reform the consultation requirements for smaller businesses for transfers taking place on or after 1 July 2024.

The circumstances in which employers can inform and consult directly with employees where no existing employee representatives are in place, are now extended and the requirement to elect employee representatives does not apply if:

• The employer employs fewer than 50 employees; or
• There are fewer than 10 employees who are likely to be)transferred.

6. Code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement (or ‘fire and rehire’)

The new code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement (or ‘fire and rehire’) came into force on 18 July 2024 and can be found here –https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dismissal-and-re-engagement-code-of-practice/code-of-practice-on-dismissal-and-re-engagement-issued-by-the-secretary-of-state-under-section-203-of-the-trade-union-and-labour-relations-consolidat

The code sets out employers’ responsibilities when seeking to change contractual terms and conditions of employment and seeks to ensure dismissal and re-engagement is only used as a last resort. The code is not legislation and so is not legally binding on employers but employment tribunals have the power to apply an uplift of 25% of an employee’s compensation if an employer unreasonably fails to comply with the code where it applies.

Proposed Changes

These were recently set out in the King’s Speech, Labour outlined its commitment to deliver the following:

• Ban exploitative zero-hours contracts.
• End “fire and rehire” and “fire and replace”.
• Make parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal a day one right for all workers (subject to probationary periods to allow employers to assess new hires).
• Remove the lower earnings limit and the waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay.
• Make flexible working the default from day one for all workers.
• Strengthen protections for new mothers, making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return, other than in exceptional circumstances.
• Establish a Fair Work Agency to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights.
• Update trade union legislation, removing restrictions on trade union activity and simplifying the statutory recognition process.

The Employment Rights Bill hasn’t yet been published (it should be within the first 100 days of this government entering into power). When the draft bill is published, we will know a little bit more but it will take time for the final legislation to be agreed and come into force. We will review the draft bill when it is published to consider any changes employers will need to make to working practices, employment contract and workplace policies or staff handbooks.