Further Employment Law Changes
Extension of ban on exclusivity clauses in employment contracts – Tuesday 5 December 2023
Workers on zero hours contracts are already prohibited from having exclusivity clauses in their terms of engagement. This has been extended to cover workers who earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit (currently £123 a week). This means workers who earn less than this will be entitled to have second jobs etc.
European whistleblowing – Sunday 17 December 2023
The EU Whistleblower Protection Directive is having its scope extended on Sunday 17 December 2023. The obligations will now apply to a larger range of companies, as private sector companies with 50 to 249 employees are now included.
The key obligations these companies will now be obliged to adhere to are:
- Provide safe and accessible reporting channels
- Ensure workers are aware of when and where to report wrongdoing
- Protect the confidentiality of those blowing the whistle and those involved (the identity of the whistleblower can only be disclosed to those beyond who is dealing with the report when the employer has obtained express consent from the whistleblower, with the exception of when it’s necessary and proportionate)
- Follow a prescribed timeline which includes obligations such as acknowledging the receipt of the report within seven days and providing the whistleblower with feedback
- Within three months of the initial report, provide an update on the investigation
- Protect the whistleblower from dismissal, demotion or any other form of workplace retaliation
- Keep a record of the reports for no longer than is necessary.
TUPE consultations – Monday 1 January 2024
Under the current TUPE regulations, it’s a requirement that employee representatives are nominated and elected, and the employer uses these representatives to consult with regarding the transfer. However, to allow business to consult directly with their workers, this requirement will be removed in circumstances when a business of any size is involved in a transfer of 10 or fewer employees, or a business with fewer than 50 employees is involved in a transfer.
This won’t provide you with any new obligations and will instead provide you with greater flexibility.
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – uncertain timeframe
The King’s Speech announced the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. This will raise the security standard in the UK, requiring those responsible for publicly accessible venues to take steps to reduce the threat to the public from terrorist attacks.
What a Labour Party employment reform could look like
With an upcoming general election, it’s important to consider what the opposition’s employment law reform could look like. Should the Labour Party win the next election, they have proposed:
- Single worker status: this would result in a two-part framework within employment law, having just workers and self-employed, rather than the current distinction between employees, workers, and self-employed.
- Unfair dismissal as a day one right, with further changes to unfair dismissal including:
o The removal of compensation limits
o The right to not be unfairly dismissed would be extended to workers, not just employees
o Extended time limits to file a claim
- A ban on zero-hours contracts and the right to minimum hours
- A ban on fire and rehire
- A right to disconnect from work
- Expansions to trade union rights.
Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act
Over the years, there have been numerous reports of employers taking a proportion of employees’ tips to meet their own costs or increase profits. These issues came to a head in 2015 following evidence that around two thirds of employers in hospitality were making deductions from staff tips, in some cases of around 10%.
Trade unions and other campaigners called for legislation to ban “unfair” tipping practices and, in response, the government introduced a Voluntary Code of Practice. Although there’s been some improvement, the government estimates that deductions of between 3-5% are still commonplace. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 will create a legal obligation on employers across sectors to allocate all tips, gratuities and service charges to workers without any deductions. It also requires employers to ensure that the distribution of qualifying tips between workers is fair, although that term isn’t defined and will presumably be addressed via regulations and/or the new Code of Practice.
The Act has received Royal Assent and will come into force on Monday 1 July 2024. A draft code of practice has also been published here.