What are the changes to employment law that Labour will bring in?

A summary of the key points from the Kings Speech

Labour made it clear in their manifesto that they would be tackling various employment issues and seeking to make quick changes to the world of work, and therefore it is unsurprising that employment law featured heavily in the Kings Speech at the opening of parliament on Wednesday 17^th July 2024.

The key points to note are:

• Enabling employees to claim unfair dismissal from the first day of employment. I expect that there will be an exception for probation periods, but this will be huge change for many employers who have been used to being able to dismiss employees up to 2 years in with little to no process being followed.

• Parental leave will be available from the first day of employment instead of after 1 year.

• Employees will be able to access Statutory Sick Pay from the start of their employment as the lower earnings limit for pay will be reduced or removed, and waiting periods for pay will also be removed.

• Zero-hour contracts will be banned enabling all employees to have a contract that reflects their actual regular working hours.

• Employers will have limited circumstances in which they can fire and rehire employees. For example; currently the practice is used frequently when employers want to make changes to the employment contract terms and they are not agreed by the workforce.

• Flexible working will be the default for all workers from day one and the onus on employers to accommodate this will be tightened.

• Pregnant women will have protection from dismissal meaning that employers will be unable to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after she comes back to work.

• Labour plan to create the Fair Work Agency to enforce workplace rights.

• Strengthening the role of Trade Unions and making changes to the law on trade union recognition and voting etc.

The devil is of course in the detail with many of these things and we expect that the new Employment Rights Bill will be published in October 2024 when we will know more of how these things will work in practice.

There is certainly going to be fair amount for employers to get to grips with over the coming months and as always, we will be here to guide and support you.

If you would like to ensure that you have ongoing support and legal advice available on the end of the phone or email when you need it why not consider becoming a member of our HR Harbour service. For a fixed monthly fee, you can be reassured that everything is taken care of for you, and you are fully compliant with the law.

If you would like a no obligation quote, please email me alison@realemploymentlawadvice.co.uk