RPC have provided the following update on the Employment Rights Bill.
Further details on how each of the employment law reforms proposed (28 in total) will operate in practice will be published. The Bill will evolve and alter as it progresses through parliament and, also, as it enters various consultation phases, including on specific aspects. In RPC’s latest episode of The Work Couch podcast – the podcast series where we explore how your business can navigate today’s tricky people challenges and respond to key developments in the ever-evolving world of employment law – we provide an initial overview of seven of the most ground-breaking reforms. Host Ellie Gelder is joined by Patrick Brodie, Partner and Head of RPC’s Employment, Engagement and Equality team.
They discuss the following:
- Removal of the two-year qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection and allowing for ‘statutory probation periods’;
- Requiring employers to allow flexible working “where practical”;
- Changes to employers’ liability for harassment of its employees, including amendments to the forthcoming new proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment of employees during the course of their employment, which is coming into force on 26 October 2024;
- New restrictions on employers using “fire and rehire” measures to impose detrimental changes to employees’ terms and conditions;
- Widening the scope of the collective redundancy consultation obligations set out in s.188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;
- Family-focused reforms, including changes to eligibility for paternity leave, ordinary parental leave, statutory sick pay and bereavement leave; and
- Complex reforms to the law on zero hours contracts and guaranteed working hours.
Listen to the episode here
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss further. Our market leading Employment, Engagement and Equality team has decades of experience in supporting clients on employment matters. We can provide guidance and support on the above, as well as advice on anything else your organisation might need to do to ensure its compliance with the new reforms when they come into force.
Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA
