Several developments on new employment legislation were announced by the government in December 2023, with changes having either already come into effect or expected to take place in April 2024.
Strikes – Minimum Service Levels
On 12 December 2023, new regulations came into force which require a minimum level of staffing during industrial action undertaken in border security and passport services. This mirrors legislation which came into force in relation to passenger rail and ambulance services on 8 December 2023.
These regulations have been introduced under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 which was passed in July 2023 and gives the government a power to set minimum service levels for strikes in certain 'relevant services' (rail, ambulance and fire and rescue, education, border security, nuclear decommissioning and management of radioactive waste and spent fuel).
Employers covered by the minimum service levels legislation can issue 'work notices' to require certain workers to refrain from strike action to meet those minimum service levels.
The regulations are supported by a Code of Practice setting out the steps which unions must undertake in order to comply with minimum service levels.
Note that this legislation may be relative short lived because the Labour Party has pledged to repeal the Minimum Service Levels Act if it wins the next General Election.
Flexible working
The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 were laid before Parliament on 11 December 2023 (see the explanatory memorandum here).
They remove the requirement that an employee must have 26 weeks' service to be able to make a request for flexible working, and so make the right to request flexible working a Day One right.
The regulations come into force on 6 April 2024 and will apply to requests made on or after that date.
These regulations were anticipated in the government press release that accompanied the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill (which received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023). Whilst that Act did not make flexible working a day one right, the government made clear its intention to introduce secondary legislation to this effect.
Extended redundancy protections – pregnancy and family leave
The draft Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 have been published and are expected to come into force from 6 April 2024. Assuming that the draft regulations are passed in their current form, they will mark a significant extension to the current right to be offered suitable alternative vacancies in a redundancy situation for employees on maternity/adoption/shared parental leave (under Regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999). As currently drafted, the new regulations will apply as follows.
| Leave |
Extended protected period (when employee must be offered first refusal of suitable alternative employment in redundancy situation) |
Date applicable |
|
Pregnancy |
From date employee tells their employer about their pregnancy. If the employee is entitled to statutory maternity leave, the protected period of pregnancy will end on the day the statutory maternity leave starts. If the pregnancy ends and they are not entitled to statutory maternity leave, the protected period ends two weeks after the end of pregnancy. |
Employer must be informed of the pregnancy on, or after, 6 April 2024 |
|
Maternity |
18 months from the first day of the estimated week of childbirth. The protected period can be changed to cover 18 months from the exact date of birth if the employee gives the employer notice of this date prior to the end of maternity leave. |
Right currently applies during maternity leave. Will apply to the period after maternity leave in respect of any maternity ending on, or after, 6 April 2024 |
|
Adoption |
18 months from placement for adoption (or the date they enter Great Britain in the case of overseas adoptions). |
Right currently applies during adoption leave. Will apply to the period after adoption leave in respect of any adoption leave ending on, or after, 6 April 2024 |
|
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) |
18 months from birth or placement for adoption (or the date they enter Great Britain if adopted from overseas), provided that the parent has taken a period of at least 6 consecutive weeks of SPL and has not taken maternity or adoption leave. |
Right currently applies during SPL. Will apply to the period after SPL where a period of six consecutive weeks' SPL starts on or after 6 April 2024 |
Guidance on the new redundancy protection regulations will be
published by the Department for Business and Trade and their
Explanatory Memorandum is available here.
Carer's leave
Draft Carer's Leave Regulations have been published which will introduce a new right to a week's unpaid leave for carers from 6 April 2024.
The right will only apply to employees who have a dependant with a long-term care need. The leave can be taken flexibly, in a block of one week or in individual days or half day.
Employers will not have the option to decline carer's leave but can postpone the leave where it would be unduly disruptive. Employers must give notice of postponement as soon as is reasonably practicable and following consultation with the employee. They must then confirm a new date on which they can take the leave within a month of the original request.
Note that this new right will be in addition to the existing right to take time off to arrange emergency care for dependants, but employees can use the new carer's leave entitlement to arrange care, as well as provide care themselves.
Contributors: Sarah Maddock and Catherine Roylance
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.