The past year has seen some significant shifts in employment law, driven in part by changes to the political landscape with a general election ushering in the priorities of a new government.
Thrings’ Head of Employment, Kerrie Hunt, takes a look at the changes employers need to know about from the key developments of 2024.
March 2024
The introduction of the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 meant that fathers are now able to take paternity leave in two non-consecutive one-week blocks, with the notice period reduced to just 28 days for each period of leave.
April 2024
Ahead of the general election, the then-Conservative government made a number of changes to legislation, including:
- National Minimum Wage Increase: The National Living Wage rose by 9.8%, bringing the rate to £11.44 per hour.
- Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations: Employees no longer need to have 26 weeks of service to make a request for flexible working.
- Carer’s Leave Regulations: Employees with a dependant who has long-term care needs now have the right to take one week’s unpaid leave each year to provide or arrange care.
October 2024 (The Big One!)
The Employment Rights Bill was a landmark release introduced by the new Labour government, with 28 employment law reforms impacting businesses and their staff across the country and likely to come into effect in 2026. This includes:
- Unfair dismissal to become a day-one right;
- Employers to face tighter restrictions on "fire and rehire" practices;
- Workers to have the right to a guaranteed hours contract, replacing zero-hour and "low-hours" contracts;
- Employers to be required to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment, including by third parties;
- Paternity leave to also become a day-one right;
- Employers to be limited in refusing flexible working requests, allowing only reasonable refusals under statutory grounds
- Employers with 250 or more employees being required publish equality action plans.
Autumn Budget 2024
The Budget brought along a series of important changes, including an increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions, rising by 1.2%, to 15% from April 2025. Income tax thresholds are also set to rise in line with inflation by 2028-29, though this is still a few years away.
A further increase to the National Living Wage is set to take place in April 2025, rising by 6.7%, reaching £12.21 per hour.
What’s next?
Kerrie Hunt, Head of Employment, said: “As we look ahead to 2025, it's likely we’ll see further developments—though there may also be some adjustments and fine-tuning, especially regarding the Employment Rights Bill. It is important for employers to ensure they are keeping abreast of these latest developments and are taking legal advice to ensure their policies are all updated to reflect the changes to national legislation.”
Thrings’ Employment lawyers are experienced in dealing with business matters that affect the workforce including managing risk and has acted for both employers and employees from start-ups and SMEs all the way to multinational corporations across a wide range of employment matters. Get in contact to find out how they can help strengthen your polices and solve your disputes.
