Category: HR

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Employment Law and the Election

navigating the maze

Employment Law and the Election 2024

As a business owner and consultant advising employers on employment law I was pleased to find that my professional body the CIPD has summarised the employment law promises from the three largest parties going into the election.

It got me thinking how much is at stake here. Looking just at the employment agenda’s there will be a lot of work to generate all of these laws and regulations, let alone the burden on employers to consult, write and implement the policies that accompany them. Not to mention the additional costs and burdens on the payroll and reduction of available working time from people within the business.

If you own and run a business like me, we should also be taking a close look at the proposed financial and business support strategies being promised before making up our minds how to vote.

CIPD Article

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that a general election will be held on 4 July. Here, we run through the main political parties’ positions on workplace reform. 

This has been updated following the release of an updated version of Labour’s “Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering A New Deal for Working People”. 

Labour 

  • Day-one rights: Remove qualifying periods for basic rights like unfair dismissal, sick pay, and parental leave so they become day-one rights. 
  • Single status of “worker”: Remove current distinction between employees and workers so that all workers are afforded same basic rights and protections, eg sick pay, holiday pay, parental leave, protection against unfair dismissal, etc. 
  • Strengthen rights: Strengthen existing rights and protections, including for pregnant workers, whistle-blowers, workers made redundant, workers subject to TUPE processes and those making grievances; reinstate School Support Staff Negotiating Body; encourage employers to sign up to “Dying to work” charter to support workers with a terminal illness. 
  • Self-employment: Be given a right to a written contract. 
  • Raise wages for workers: Remove age bandings used in current system; reform role of the Low Pay Commission including requiring them to take cost of living into consideration when recommending rates; ensure travel time in sectors with multiple working sites is paid; act on ‘sleep over’ hours in sectors like social care; ban certain unpaid internships; create Fair Pay Agreements in adult social care; ban unpaid internships except as part of education/training course. 
  • Sick pay: Strengthen statutory sick pay (SSP), make it available for all workers and remove the waiting period. Rate to represent fair earnings replacement. 
  • Tips: Strengthen the law to ensure hospitality workers receive their tips in full and workers decide how tips are allocated. 
  • Close pay gaps: Publication of ethnicity and disability pay gaps to be mandatory for firms with more than 250 staff. 
  • Tackle harassment: Require employers to create and maintain workplaces and working conditions free from harassment, including by third parties. 
  • Flexible working: Making flexible working the default from day one for all workers except where it is not reasonably feasible. 
  • Family-friendly: Make parental leave a day one right; introduce right to bereavement leave; make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant employees for six months after return from maternity leave except in specific circumstances. 
  • Caring responsibilities: Review implementation of carer’s leave and examine benefits of introducing paid carer’s leave. 
  • Zero-hours contracts: Ban “one-sided” flexibility; anyone working regular hours for 12 weeks or more will gain right to a regular contract to reflect hours worked; and all workers to get reasonable notice of any change in shifts or working time, and recompense for cancelled shifts. 
  • Fire and re-hire: Improve information and consultation procedures by replacing statutory code of practice introduced by current Government with a stronger one; adapt unfair dismissal and redundancy legislation to prevent workers being dismissed for not agreeing to a worse contract. 
  • Wellbeing : Support wellbeing of workers and their long term physical and mental health, assess whether existing regulations and guidance is adequate to support and protect those experiencing the symptoms of long Covid. 
  • Menopause: Require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans. 
  • Right to switch off: Introduce a new right to disconnect and protect workers from remote surveillance. 
  • Artificial intelligence: Work with workers, trade unions, employers and experts to examine what AI and new technologies mean for work, jobs and skills. 
  • Update trade union laws: Strengthen trade union right of entry to workplaces; simplify process of union recognition; strengthen protections for trade union reps; and new duty on employers to inform workforce of right to join a union in their written contract. 
  • Enforcement rights: Extend time limit for bringing Employment Tribunal claims to six months; simplify enforcement of equal pay; establish a single enforcement body to enforce worker rights. 

  Conservatives 

  • Continue current agenda: Neonatal care leave and pay; reform of industrial action laws; Back to Work plan including proposed reform of fit notes; reform of umbrella company market; continue with National Disability Strategy; address definition of “sex” in Equality Act 2010; reintroduction of employment tribunal fees; reform of non-compete clauses; proposed reform to TUPE; right to paternity leave after bereavement. 
  • Bills currently being debated: Various including Bullying and Respect at Work Bill; Fertility Treatment (Employment Rights) Bill; and Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill. 

Liberal Democrats 

  • Parental leave reform: Give all workers, including self-employed parents, a day-one right to parental leave and pay. Each parent would get six weeks of “use-it-or-lose-it” leave, with 46 weeks of parental leave to share between themselves as they choose. After the initial six weeks, parental pay would be £350 per week. 
  • Increase paternity pay: Increase paternity pay to 90% of earnings, with a cap for high earners. 
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How to Make Sure Your Office Christmas Party Doesn’t End in Tears

The office Christmas party is meant to be a fun way to reward staff for all their hard work over the year, but it can quickly become a PR and HR nightmare if someone posts inappropriate photos or videos to social media. Unfortunately, this kind of situation is becoming more and more common as people become more attached to their phones. In this blog post, we’ll look at how employers can make sure their office Christmas party stays off social media and out of the public eye.

The holidays can be a great time to gather with colleagues and let off some steam, but it’s important to remember that what happens at the office Christmas party doesn’t always stay at the office Christmas party. With the proliferation of smartphones, it’s easier than ever for embarrassing moments or photographs to end up on social media and potentially damage an individual or a company’s reputation.

Here are some tips for making sure your office Christmas party doesn’t end up on social media:

  1. Remind staff not to take any photos or videos: Remind staff ahead of time that it is against company policy to take photos or videos at the office Christmas party and that any such content should be kept private.
  2. If you want to record the event for the Company, appoint someone for example from the marketing team to take suitable images that can be used formally.
  3. Discourage inappropriate behaviour: Make sure staff know that you do not condone any type of inappropriate behaviour at the office Christmas party, such as getting excessively drunk or engaging in lewd behaviour. The number of sexual harassment cases following Christmas parties is on the rise and HR must investigate and take action if it is a Company event.
  4. Encourage staff to think before they post: Remind staff to think twice before posting anything on social media, it will be seen by your boss and others in the company. Consider how they and the Company will be viewed.
  5. Finally, encourage people to look out for one another, ensuring everyone gets home safely.

By following these simple tips, you can make sure that your office Christmas party remains just between the people who attended it and does not end up on social media. Encourage people to have fun but do so responsibly!

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High Days and Holidays – Who pays when extra Public Holidays are granted?

In June 2022 we all cheered and celebrated as our dear Queen Elizabeth celebrated 70 years on the throne. An additional bank holiday was given to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.

Sadly, this September she has left us, having served us so faithfully for all those years. It is likely that the British Government may announce a day of mourning or an additional bank holiday. Many businesses will take the decision to close at other times as well in a mark of respect, and to deal with grief.

Next year- at some point- Charles III will be crowned as King, and there will be much ceremony and celebrating once again.

So, as an employer do you have to grant the additional holiday and do you have to pay your staff? As with all of these questions – the answer is …it depends…

If, as an employer, you have decided to close your business on a normal workday as a mark of respect- then yes you will be paying the staff as usual.

When the government grants an additional public holiday then we need to look at our contracts of employment to decide how we will deal with this additional holiday. Which of these circumstances fits your situation?

  1. Your contract is for 28 days holidays including bank and public holidays.
    The additional day should come from the employee’s holiday allowance. You are free to give an additional paid day off if you wish.
  2. Your contract is for 20 days Plus bank and public holidays.
    If there is an additional awarded day off – your contract means you should pay that day in addition to the usual days off.
  3. Your contract is for 20 days plus these listed 8 bank holidays (Christmas and Boxing day, New Year’s day, Good Friday and Easter Monday, Early and Late May bank holidays, Late August bank holiday).
    In this case an additional day should be awarded and paid for by the employer.

Regardless of the numbers of days involved – we hope this is helpful. If your situation is more complicated than we have outlined (above), feel free to contact us for some individual advice if you need to.

Email Helen or contact her via 02922 805 930.

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Financial Wellbeing Now Top Priority

Throughout March the CIPD had a strong voice on some key issues in the world of work. They are calling on employers to look at ways to improve the financial security of their workers as the cost-of-living continues to bite.

It is important to encourage people to want to work and to feel that working their way out of poverty is both possible and worth doing. Long hours and low wages only fuel a reliance on the state, which is an unhealthy long-term position for everyone. The increasing cost bases are hitting employers as well so thinking about employee financial security could seem like an additional burden. The minimum wage has just increased nearly 8% and supply chains are piling on increases in transport, raw materials and energy as well.

Why should employers take action?

Supporting your people to achieve a decent standard of living is an essential element of good work and responsible business. Research shows, that when we’re worried about money, our work suffers. Encouraging conversations about money worries helps people feel more confident and empowered, and more ready to face what life and work throws at them.

Businesses who pay the voluntary real Living Wage report several business benefits including improved recruitment and retention and better relations between staff and managers.

So, what can employers do? 

The most recent Employer survey from the CIPD in March 22 found the following elements to be the most important in providing financial security for employees:

  • provide a fair and liveable wage (96%)
  • support in-work progression to help people increase their earning potential (87%)
  • support financial wellbeing by offering and signposting benefits and financial education (71%).

Have a think about what can be offered to add value without adding hugely to your cost base. For example, partnering with local businesses who can offer your people an Independent Financial Planning Advice Service, or an independent household bills review is a good start. If these things can be done during the working day at your site, the convenience will be a boost to staff, there are possible savings for your people and you are also supporting your local business community.

There are plenty of options for supporting your teams and many people will have different priorities depending on their stage in life and own personal circumstances. Utilize your staff surveys or consultative groups to feedback the priorities for your own business.

At Oyster HR we always suggest that you use survey data, appraisal or supervision feedback along with your HR Dashboard performance to help shape and inform your ongoing HR Strategy. That of course means you need to be asking the right kinds of questions in the first place.

For a no obligation discussion about these or other pressing HR matters – we are happy to chat! [email protected]