Employment law- anticipated changes in October 2024

The Labour government’s ‘New deal for working people’ intends to introduce new legislation, significantly shifting the balance towards employees. Their goal is to have the draft legislation ready within the first 100 days of being elected (around the 12th October), following this there’ll be a consultation period, maybe lasting three months or more.

So, what are the proposed changes, what do they mean for your business and what should you do now?

1.Right to switch off

Ministers are considering a new initiative to give employees the “right to disconnect,” preventing homes from becoming 24/7 offices. If implemented, employers would no longer be able to routinely contact employees outside of normal working hours, with potential legal consequences if these boundaries are breached.

The aim is to maintain employee motivation and productivity while addressing the rise of “presenteeism culture.” Notably, Ireland has introduced a Code of Practice on this right, and Belgium requires companies with 20+ employees to establish formal agreements. Labour plans to follow these models, encouraging constructive conversations on workplace policies that benefit everyone.

It will be interesting to see how this works in practice in a number of industries, the legal industry being one of them!

2. Day one rights

This new legislation will include basic rights such as protection against unfair dismissal, parental leave, and sick pay from day one, all of which is aimed at encouraging job mobility and to help drive up standards in the workplace.

Key features of these changes include:

• Probation period to evaluate new hires will become essential

• Robust performance conversations, with clear targets and expectations which are well documented with an email, letter, note to the HR system etc

• Robust job descriptions for clarity around roles

Some businesses may experience a significant shift around ‘Day one’ employment rights, however they are not expected to be applied retrospectively.

3. The end of exploitative zero-hour contracts

Contracts need to accurately represent the hours typically worked and ensure all employment positions offer a level of fundamental security and predictability.

4. The end of ‘Fire and rehire’

This legislation change is designed to ensure employers follow correct processes when making employees redundant and then re-hiring them under different terms and conditions.

5. Flexible working arrangements

Flexible working for all workers set to be a default from the beginning of employment, with employers required to establish flexible working arrangements as a standard practice.

6. Carer’s leave

Carer’s leave to be reviewed for potential paid options and bereavement leave entitlements for all employees to be clarified.

7. New mothers

Strengthening rights for new mothers, it will be unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work, except in exceptional circumstances.

8. Sickness absence

Changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will involve removing the lower earning threshold required for SSP eligibility, and abolishing the waiting period before SSP benefits can commence.

9. Pay gap reporting

There will be compulsory reporting on ethnicity and disability pay gaps for employers with 250+ employees, with larger companies required to publish and implement plans at addressing their gender pay gaps.

What should I do now?

Think about how these new regulations could impact on your existing processes and contracts.

1. Review your current employment contracts, do you have any existing policies around expectations of out of hours working and rights available from day one for new employees?

2. Think about what you might want or need when it comes out of hours contact with employees.

3. Prepare now for the anticipated changes in managing performance and probation periods, for example: – Probation period to evaluate new hires will become essential – Robust performance conversations, with clear targets and expectations which are well documented with an email, letter, note on the HR system etc – Robust job descriptions for clarity around roles

4. The ‘day one’ rights might impact your approach to recruitment. Lots of employers have taken comfort from the rule that until an employee has completed 2 continuous years of employment, they will not be able to raise a claim for unfair dismissal unless they can prove discrimination. When this changes to employment rights from day one, it’s likely that employers will take a much more considered and thorough approach to recruitment. 

If you would like any assistance preparing for these new laws and reviewing your contracts, contact us and our employment law specialists can advise and support you.

Here’s more information on Labour’s ‘New deal for working people’.