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April saw a wave of new legislation and employment regulations in the UK. Here’s a summary of the important updates:
Employee Rights
As of 6 April, this year, several key changes have taken place, impacting the way employers will be required to respond.
Flexible Working Rights
One significant change is the transformation of the flexible working regime. Employees now have the right to request flexible working arrangements from day one of their employment, rather than waiting for 26 weeks. This includes various options such as part-time schedules, flexitime, compressed hours, and alternative work locations.
Additionally, employees are allowed to make up to two requests per year, with a shortened decision timeframe of two months. Employers must also provide reasons for rejecting any requests, eliminating the previous discretion to decline without explanation.
The ACAS code of practice has also now been updated to reflect these changes: https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-flexible-working-requests/html A failure to follow the Code does not, in itself, make a person or an employer liable to legal proceedings but employment tribunals will take the Code into account when considering claims.
Paternity Leave
Changes to paternity leave allow fathers to take leave in two separate one-week blocks within 52 weeks of the birth, an increase from the previous eight-week period.
Carer’s Leave
A new day-one right to carer’s leave is introduced by The Carers Leave Act 2024, enabling employees to provide care for dependents with long-term care needs, such as a spouse, child, or parent with a disability or illness requiring at least three months of care.
While this leave is unpaid and limited to one week per year, employers can only postpone it if approving it would unduly disrupt business operations.
Redundancy Protection
In addition to the changes which may impact on employers’ policies and procedures, this new protection for pregnant employees and those returning from maternity/adoption and shared parental leave should also be noted. These employees will now benefit from priority consideration for suitable alternative employment in redundancy situations. This extends the existing protection previously limited to employees on maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave.
Compensation Limits & Statutory Payments
We also saw the following increases come into force from 6 April:
Maximum Compensatory Award for Unfair Dismissal:
The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal has been increased from £105,707 to £115,115, providing enhanced protection for employees in case of unjust termination.
Limit on a Week’s Pay:
The limit on a week’s pay has been raised from £643 to £700. This adjustment carries implications for various employment calculations, including statutory redundancy payments and specific tribunal awards.
Basic Award:
The minimum basic award for certain types of unfair dismissal has been raised from £7,836 to £8,533, ensuring fairer compensation for employees facing wrongful termination.
Statutory Guarantee Pay:
Statutory guarantee pay has been increased from £35 to £38 per day. This elevation offers increased support to employees during periods of layoff or short-time working, providing a safety net during challenging times.
SSP:
The weekly rate of statutory sick pay also increased from £109.40 to £116.75 with effect from 6 April 2024.
SMP, SPP, SAP etc.
With effect from 7 April 2024 the weekly rates of statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory shared parental pay and statutory parental bereavement pay each increased from £172.48 to £184.03. Maternity allowance also increased from £172.48 to £184.03 from 8 April 2024.
Vento Guidelines: compensation ranges for injury to feelings awards in discrimination cases
The so-called ‘Vento guidelines’ which outline the ranges for injury to feelings awards in discrimination cases also increased for claims presented on or after 6 April 2024. The revised Vento bands are as follows:
A lower band ranging from £1,200 to £11,700, designed for less serious cases.
A middle band spanning £11,700 to £35,200, designated for cases not warranting an upper band award.
An upper band extending from £35,200 to £58,700, reserved for the most severe cases, with exceptionally serious cases potentially exceeding £58,700.
Employers may want to review their existing policies to make sure that the changes referred to above concerning flexible working rights, paternity leave and the new carers leave are included. This also presents an opportunity to ensure that all policies and procedures and aligned with all employment contracts to be used for new joiners.
Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding the issues discussed in this article.
E: help@jma-hrlegal.co.uk / T: +44 (0)1252 821792
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