Holiday pay

From 01 April 2024, a new holiday system for workers with irregular hours or part-time schedules will be implemented.

These rules are applicable to holiday years commencing on or after 01 April 2024, potentially impacting employers differently based on their holiday year cycle.

For instance, if your organisation follows a calendar holiday year, these rules won't be applicable until January 2025.

Under this system, workers with irregular hours or part-year engagements will accrue statutory holiday entitlement at the end of each pay period, calculated at the rate of 12.07% of hours worked. 

Additionally, employers have the option to provide holiday pay on a rolled-up basis, i.e., as a supplement to basic pay.

For employers engaging such workers, these changes carry significant implications, warranting consideration of legal advice to update existing practices.

Flexible working

On 06 April 2024, employees gain the right to request flexible working from day 1 of employment, eliminating the previous requirement of completing six months of employment before submitting a request.

This change, expected to be introduced alongside other more limited flexible working reforms, may heighten the importance of the right to request flexible working, especially as some employers adopt a stricter stance on office attendance.

However, it's essential to note that the decision to accept or decline such a request remains within the employer's discretion.

Carer’s leave

From the same date, a new statutory right to carer's leave takes effect. Employees will have the right to a week's unpaid leave to care for a dependent. 

Regardless of the size or nature of your organisation, it is likely that you employ individuals with caring responsibilities, even if they haven't disclosed this status before.

Employers should consider updating or creating policies, implementing record-keeping systems to track the number of days taken, and ensuring that people managers are aware of this new right.

Extended protection from redundancy

Simultaneously, starting on 06 April 2024, new regulations will broaden the scope of redundancy protections for certain employees.

These changes mandate the offering of suitable alternative vacancies, where available, to specific groups in a redundancy scenario.

The expanded coverage now includes:

• Pregnant employees who disclose their pregnancy to their employer on or after 6 April 2024.
• Employees returning from statutory maternity or adoption leave, where the leave concludes on or after 06 April 2024.
• Employees returning from at least 06 consecutive weeks of statutory shared parental leave (not already covered by maternity and adoption protection), where the leave commences on or after 06 April 2024.

Pregnant employees are safeguarded from the moment they inform their employer of their pregnancy.

Meanwhile, eligible parents returning from maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave are covered for 18 months following the expected week of childbirth, placement for adoption, or the child's birth, depending on individual circumstances.

Employers must take into account this extended protection when planning any restructuring efforts.

Moreover, they need to establish robust record-keeping systems to identify all entitled employees who should be offered suitable alternative vacancies in the event of a redundancy situation.

Paternity leave

Regarding children expected to be born or placed for adoption after 06 April 2024, eligible fathers and partners will gain additional flexibility. They will be entitled to:

Furthermore, there are adjustments to notification requirements, reducing the notice period for leave dates.

Please do not hesitate to contact us to support with any necessary amendments to your policies and procedures.

Key topics covered on the webinar included:

• Various forms of flexible working arrangements (such as hybrid, remote work, workcations, and job sharing).
• Implications of the new regulations on handling Flexible Working Requests.
• Strategies for successful implementation of flexible working within your organisation.
• Proactive measures to circumvent common pitfalls.
• Insights from pertinent case law.

In a recent case, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a decision by the Employment Tribunal (ET) regarding the dismissal of a Christian actress from a theatre production after her online posts about her beliefs regarding homosexuality surfaced.

Despite claims of discrimination, harassment, and breach of contract brought forth by the actress, both tribunals ruled against her. The EAT upheld this decision, stating that her dismissal was not due to her Christian beliefs per se but rather the adverse publicity's impact on the production's reputation and commercial success.