EMPLOYMENT LAW CHANGES IN 2024

A guide on changes to employment law in 2024 from the employment law experts

Marjon Law, specialist employment lawyers is owner-led by Marc Jones, who is ranked and recommended in legal publications as a leading employment law solicitor, with over 20 years of experience practising solely in employment law.

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Act) confirms that only those laws expressly identified by the Government at the end of 2023 would be revoked. In the short, this means all EU-derived employment law will remain in place (subject to the reforms).

From 1 January 2024, the Act creates uncertainty over the status of EU case law and the way EU-derived law will be interpreted by UK courts.

As part of the reforms, the Government introduced legislation to amend EU-derived law.

(1) Holiday pay and working time

The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023, came into force on 1 January 2024 and amend the Working Time Regulations 1998, as follows:

for holiday years starting after 1 April 2024, ‘rolled up’ holiday pay (ie is the practice of including an amount for holiday pay on top of a worker’s normal hourly rate, paid at the time they perform the work, rather than when they are on holiday) is now lawful for part‐year workers or those with irregular hours by providing a standard calculation of 12.07% of pay

workers are permitted to carry over their statutory holiday (ie 4 weeks) to the following year where they have been unable to take holiday due to family-related leave or where a worker has been unable to take leave due to sickness for a maximum of 18 months. In addition, there will be a right to carry over annual leave if an employer fails to encourage workers to take annual leave or doesn’t give them a reasonable opportunity to take it. This will place a positive duty on employers to ensure workers are given the chance to take holiday

‘normal remuneration’ now includes commission and regular overtime

the requirement for employers to keep records of all working and rest time has been abolished.

The Government has introduced guidance covering the changes https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-holiday-entitlement-and-holiday-pay-calculations/holiday-pay-and-entitlement-reforms-from-1-january-2024?mc_cid=c00bbd4c00&mc_eid=c029591e05

(2) Equality

The Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Regulations 2023, came into force on 1 January 2024 and amend the Equality Act 2010, as follows:

the legislation has been extended to allow claims of indirect discrimination by association (section 19A). Individuals who do not directly have a protected characteristic are now able to claim discrimination where they have suffered similar disadvantages from an employer’s provision, criterion or practice

the definition of disability (section 6) now accounts for a person’s ability to participate fully in working life on an equal footing with other workers, when considering ‘day to day activities’

an extension to direct discrimination (section 13) to over a discriminatory statement concerning not wanting to employ a person with a certain protected characteristic, even where there is no recruitment process ongoing

discrimination on the grounds of breastfeeding is now expressly covered by the protected characteristic of sex (section 13)

the introduction of a ‘single source test’ for establishing an equal pay comparator (section 79(4A)). This means that a comparator can work for a different business as long as the body responsible for setting the terms is the same.

(3) Flexible working

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, will come into force on 6 April 2024 and amend the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 and the Employment Rights Act 1996, as follows:

employees will no longer need 26 weeks’ service in order to make a flexible working request – it will be a ‘day-1 right’

employees will be able to make 2 requests for flexible working in any 12-month period instead of 1

employers will have 2 months (rather than 3 months) to respond and must consult with employees before coming to a decision

employees will no longer have to explain the impact of their request. The responsibility to consider the impact will fall on the employer.

Employers will still be able to refuse a flexible working request for one of the 6 statutory grounds in the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Comment

Other changes that will come into force in 2024 are:

employees on or after 6 April 2024 will be able to take 2-weeks paternity leave, as separate 1-week blocks at any time in the 52 weeks after the birth of the child and only have to provide 28 days' notice under the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024, which are due to come into force in March 2024

parents on maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave on or after 6 April 2024 will be entitled to be offered first refusal on suitable alternative employment where they are at risk of redundancy during the protected period, which is extended to 18 months under the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023

employees will be able to take 1 week of unpaid carer's leave in a rolling 12-month period, as a 'day-1 right' who have a dependant with a long-term care need and those who want to be absent from work to provide, or arrange care for that dependant under the Carer's Leave Regulations 2024, which are due to come into force on 6 April 2024

increased flexibility with consultation under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 for small businesses with 50 employees or less or a transfer involving less than 10 employees, which will come into force on 1 July 2024

a new statutory right for workers to request a more predictable working pattern under the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023, which is expected to come into force around September 2024

a duty on employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment under The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which is expected to come into force in October 2024.

This blog does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Appropriate legal advice should be sought for specific circumstances and before action is taken.