From Amy Fletcher of Fitzgerald HR.
Stay on top of employment law changes with our handy overview as this year promises to be a busy one for employment law updates. Expect to see a higher-than-normal increase to the national living wage, greater protection for atypical workers and a number of family friendly initiatives.
With an election due to take place later this year, 2025 is set to bring even more turbulence. If, as the polls predict, the Labour Party wins the election, we are likely to see further employment law changes. The party has pledged to introduce an employment rights bill which will strengthen workers' rights and protections, for example banning zero hours contracts and ‘fire and rehire' practices.
In this article, we will provide an overview of the key employment law changes for 2024 including:
- Employment law changes 2024 that have already come into force
- Upcoming employment law changes
- Expected employment law changes
- A recap of 2023's employment law changes
Employment law changes 2024 that have already come into force
It's only February, and the following employment law changes have already been introduced:
Carry over of annual leave
The government has introduced changes to the carry over of annual leave. From 1st January 2024, workers are now able to carry over up to 28 days' leave in the following circumstances:
- They have been on maternity or other family related leave.
- They have been on sick leave (this is limited to carry over of 20 days and must be taken within 18 months from the end of the leave year in which it was accrued.)
- Their employer refuses to pay their paid leave entitlement, fails to give them a reasonable opportunity to take holiday, or fails to inform them that untaken holiday will not carry over.
Employer action: make sure your Annual Leave Policy is updated. Ensure that regular reminders are sent to employees encouraging them to book their annual leave and explaining that any leave which isn't used by the end of the leave year will not be carried over.
Fines for employing an illegal worker have tripled, increasing to £45,000 per worker for a first breach, and £60,000 per worker for repeat breaches.
Employer action: to avoid these hefty fines, make sure you follow the latest government guidelines on conducting right to work checks and ensure that accurate records are kept.
On 1st January 2024, amendments to the Equality Act came into force. These amendments mean that EU derived equality rights have been reproduced into our domestic law. These rights would have otherwise disappeared from UK law under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, as a result of BREXIT.
Employer action: make sure you are familiar with the protections provided by the Equality Act, and ensure your policies and procedures are compliant.
Upcoming 2024 employment law changes
The government has announced the following employment law updates which will come into force later this year:
Annual leave calculations
Holiday entitlement and holiday pay calculations for irregular hours workers and part year workers have been simplified by the government, following the Supreme Court judgment in Harpur Trust v Brazel. These changes will apply to all leave years beginning on or after 1st April 2024.
Holiday entitlement for irregular hours workers and part year workers will be calculated in hours not weeks. Holiday entitlement will accrue at a rate of 12.07% of the hours worked in a pay period, which reflects the statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 5.6 weeks. A different percentage should be used for workers with a higher annual leave entitlement. The government provides useful guidance on how to calculate leave entitlement here.
| Definitions |
| A worker is an irregular hours worker if the number of paid hours that they will work in each pay period during the term of their contract in that year is, under the terms of their contract, wholly or mostly variable. |
| A worker is a part-year worker if, under the terms of their contract, they are required to work only part of that year and there are periods within that year (during the term of the contract) of at least a week which they are not required to work and for which they are not paid. |
Where such workers are absent throughout the year (for example, on maternity leave), a 52-week reference period should be used instead to calculate leave entitlement.
Employers will also now have the option of paying rolled-up holiday pay for irregular hours workers and part year workers. Rolled-up holiday pay allows employers to include an additional amount with every payslip to cover a worker's holiday pay, rather than paying holiday pay when a worker takes annual leave.
Payments for rolled up holiday pay must be set out separately on the workers' payslip. Employers must also ensure that workers are able to take their leave entitlement.
Employer action: assess whether any of your workers meet the definition of an irregular hours worker or a part-year worker. Decide how to calculate and pay their annual leave, ensuring you comply with this change of legislation. Please contact us if you would like advice on this complex area of UK employment law.
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