Employment Law Updates 2024

Working Time Regulations

• Removal of Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendments) Regulation 2020.
• Workers have until 31 March 2024 to use any holiday previously accrued under this exemption.

Holiday Pay Entitlements

• Confirmation that the EU approach to calculating holiday pay is being adopted by the UK.
  • 4 weeks’ leave paid at “normal” pay which includes commission, overtime pay etc.
  • 1.6 weeks’ leave paid at “basic” pay which is salary only.

Holiday Carry Over

• Change to rules regarding holiday carry over.
• Employees will be able to carry holiday over if:
  • an employer has not encouraged them to use their holiday;
  • an employer has prevented them from using their holiday;
  • an employer has not made it clear that unused holiday will be lost.

National Minimum Wage

• Extension of National Living Wage to individuals who are aged 21 and 22.
• New rates of pay for National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.

Rolled-Up Holiday Pay

• Rolled up holiday pay is the process that has been used to make holiday payments to irregular workers.
• It means that companies pay holiday pay as a percentage of hours worked at the end of each pay period, rather than paying it at the time when the employee takes the holiday.
• This approach was deemed unlawful by the EU but becomes lawful under UK legislation from 1^st April.

Holiday Accrual for Irregular Hours and Part-Year Workers

• Introduction of accrual method of calculating holiday entitlement for workers on irregular hours or part-year working
• Rate of holiday accrual at 12.07%.

Flexible Working Requests

• Day one right to apply for Flexible Working Requests.
• No requirement to provide reason on application.
• Two requests can be made at any point in time within a 12 month period.

Carer’s Leave

• Day one right to a week of unpaid leave each year to provide for care for dependents with long-term care needs.

Redundancy & Family Leave

• Right to be given priority for suitable alternative role if you are on family leave (maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave) now extends to cover the period before and after that leave.

Paternity Leave

• Ability to take two weeks’ paternity leave in two blocks of one week.
• Paternity leave can be taken anytime within 52 weeks after birth.
• Employees only have to give 28 days’ notice.

Allocation of Tips
and Service Charge

• Employers are required to fairly allocate tips, gratuities, and service charge to employees.
• The legislation will require employers to account for a fair distribution of the aforementioned and to keep a record of such transactions received for 3 years.

TUPE

• Reduced TUPE consultation obligations for small scale transfers.
• This will be applicable to workplaces that have no employee representatives in place and if TUPE applies to the following:
  • Workplace has less than 50 employees.
  • Proposed transfer included less than 10 employees (irrespective of the size of the employer).

Predictable Working

• Right to request predictable working pattern for workers with uncertain terms of hours of work.
• Request to be made in writing but can be refused by employer on specific grounds. (ACAS has launched a Code of Practice which will guide on reasonable grounds of refusal of such requests. The consultation is expected to end on 17th January 2024.)

Reasonable Steps to
Prevent Sexual Harassment

• Increased requirement for employers to take active steps to prevent sexual harassment in the work place.
• It will no longer be sufficient to have a policy and undertake routine training.
• Companies will need to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to sexual harassment.