You may have seen some articles in the news recently regarding proposed changes to legislation in the UK.

Many of the legislation changes have been announced in a recent policy paper, which the government claims will “cut red tape for businesses and save £1 billion per year while safeguarding the rights of workers”

We will keep you updated as and when things change, but this document will give you a heads up of the main changes that are currently in the pipeline:

Maternity Changes

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill is currently in its third reading in the House of Lords.

If passed in its current form, it would give the government the power to change the protection that is currently offered in relation to redundancy. Currently, only pregnancy is covered by the legislation.

The protection is expected to be extended to cover the period from when a woman tells her employer she is pregnant until 18 months after the birth.

Working Time Records

Changes are proposed relating to the requirements to keep working time records. A paper published on 9th May 2023 by the Department for Business and Trade said the working time regulations would be “reformed”, specifically the requirement for employers to keep accurate records of hours worked. Currently, records should be kept and retained for at least 2 years, in relation to workers who have not opted out of the 48-hour week, young workers, and night workers.

Holiday Pay

The government have announced plans to simplify holiday pay, proposing to roll up holiday pay and merge leave entitlements into one pot of statutory annual leave (as opposed to 4 weeks leave plus 1.6 weeks of bank holiday). The amount will remain unchanged.

Non-Compete Clauses (Restrictive Covenants)

These are likely to be restricted to a maximum of 3 months. The government claims this will give workers more flexibility to join a competitor after leaving a company. Companies will be urged to continue to ensure that any covenants are only as “necessary to protect the business after employees leave the organisation”. Concerns have been raised about the practicalities of a 3-month clause for individuals in senior roles, who often have longer terms imposed.

TUPE

There are proposed changes to TUPE processes, whereby businesses with fewer than 50 people and transfers involving fewer than 10 employees, will not have to appoint representatives and will instead be able to consult directly with affected employees.

Family Friendly Workplace Bills

Other bills going through parliament include:

Flexible Working (Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill

Carer’s Leave (Carer’s Leave) Bill 2022 – 23

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill 2022 – 23

Please contact us if you have any questions about any of these proposed changes. We will continue to update you as further information becomes available.