From 6 April 2024, the right to request flexible working will be a day one right following the removal of the current 26 weeks' qualifying period.  Other changes coming into force at the same time will include:

• A new requirement that employers cannot refuse an application unless they have first consulted the employee about the application.
• Allowing employees to make two statutory requests in any 12-month period (currently one).
• A requirement for employers to respond to a request within two months (currently three). 
• Removing the requirement for employees to explain what effect, if any, the flexible working request may have on the employer and how the employer might deal with it. 

The reforms will be supported by an updated ACAS statutory Code of Practice which was published on 11 January 2024 and has been presented to Parliament for approval (see draft Code of Practice here).  ACAS will also produce non-statutory guidance to accompany the Code.

The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 will give workers and agency workers a new right to request a predictable work pattern where there is a lack of predictability as regards any part of their work pattern, the change relates to their work pattern and where the purpose in applying for the change is to get a more predictable work pattern. Fixed term contracts of 12 months or less are presumed to lack predictability.  The provisions are expected to come into force in September 2024.

Also from 6 April 2024, the Carer's Leave Act 2023, the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 and the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will introduce rights and extend protections for carers and new parents.  

The Carer's Leave Act 2023 will introduce a new statutory right for unpaid carers to take up to one week's unpaid leave each year to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need.  The leave can be taken in half or whole days or in a block of up to one week with the notice requirement being twice the length of leave period or three days whichever is longer.  Notice does not need to be in writing, nor can an employer require evidence in relation to the request before granting leave.  The carer will be protected from suffering any detriment or dismissal arising from seeking or taking carer's leave and an employer cannot decline a request altogether but may postpone it on prescribed grounds.

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 will extend current redundancy protection to expectant mothers during pregnancy and new parents will have extended protections when they return from maternity, adoption and shared parental leave.  The additional extended period for new parents will end 18 months after the expected week of childbirth/date of child's birth or placement (or date they enter Great Britain).

Paternity Leave reforms allowing fathers and partners to take paid paternity leave in two separate blocks at any time within the first year after birth rather than within 8 weeks of birth as well as reducing the notice required will be introduced in relation to children whose expected week of childbirth/date of placement for adoption (or expected date of entry into Great Britain for adoption) is on after 6 April 2024.

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 will give parents the right to take neonatal care leave and receive neonatal care pay entitlement, but these new entitlements are not expected until April 2025.

Reforms to holiday pay and entitlement in Great Britain came into force on 1 January 2024 (see our article here).  For holiday leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024 there is a new accrual method for irregular hours workers and part year workers in the first year of employment and beyond.  Holiday entitlement will be calculated as 12.07% of actual hours worked in a pay period.  New government guidance on holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024 has recently been published which, while not providing definitive answers to all queries, does set out some practical assistance for employers including worked examples.

In around October 2024 employers will be under a new duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.  Breach of this duty may be enforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) under its existing enforcement powers and, where a claim for sexual harassment has been upheld, by an employment tribunal, the tribunal may order an uplift of up to 25% of any compensation awarded for sexual harassment if the tribunal considers that the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment has been breached.

In Spring 2024 we are expecting the government response to its 2023 consultation on the use of dismissal and re-engagement practices to bring about changes to employees' terms and conditions of employment together with publication of the finalised Code of Practice setting out the steps an employer should follow to explore alternatives to dismissal and engage in meaningful consultation with trade unions, employee representatives or with affected employees to find an agreed solution. 

From 1 April 2024 the National Living Wage will apply to all workers aged 21 and over and will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour representing almost a 10% increase.  It means that the minimum salary of a worker working 40 hours per week will be near £24,000.  See our recent article on the compliance pitfalls for employers here. 

Non-competes

The Government has said that it will introduce a statutory three-month time limit on post-termination non-compete clauses in employment/worker contracts “when parliamentary time allows".  This is a watching brief for now, but once we have more information employers will need to consider and update employment contracts ahead of the new time limit coming into force.  The change may lead to employers using longer notice periods and garden leave, whilst also relying more on other post termination restrictions to protect their business, such as the duty to safeguard confidential information and non-solicitation/dealing restrictions.  Tighter information security and more care in the handling of departing employees is also likely to be high on the agenda of employers when these changes are introduced.

Hiring agency workers to cover industrial action

The Government has recently consulted on repealing the ban on agencies supplying agency staff during periods of industrial action.  This follows a successful challenge by unions of the regulations which allowed employers to hire agency workers to cover staffing gaps caused by strike action with the High Court declaring them unlawful with effect from 10 August 2023.  We await the government response.

Confidentiality Clauses

We await progress on the 2019 proposals to legislate on the use of confidentiality clauses (or NDAs) in settlement agreements and employment contracts.

Whistleblowing

The government review of the current whistleblowing framework to inform government policies on the development and improvement of the existing whistleblowing regime was due to conclude in autumn 2023.  We await a government response.