Welcome to this month's briefing for HR teams and in-house employment counsel – bringing you this month's employment law highlights in an easy-to-read package.
Podcast: sexual harassment
In this month's podcast, Matthew talks to Amy Daubeney about the new duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, a new obligation that comes into effect in October, and that all employers should start planning for now.
Labour's legislative programme
The King's Speech included two Bills which, if passed, will have a very significant impact on the UK employment landscape. The Employment Rights Bill would enact Labour's New Deal, which we have covered in a previous edition of this briefing.
Amongst the headlines are the removal of the two-year qualifying service period for unfair dismissal rights, enhancing the statutory sick pay regime, and making a number of changes to trade union legislation. Lawyers and HR teams will need to read the draft legislation in detail when it is published – which the Government has promised will be within the first hundred days – and we will update clients and readers as the precise scope of the Bill becomes clearer.
The other planned measure is the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which promises to give greater equal pay protection where race or disability is in issue, and to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting to go alongside the existing gender pay gap regime.
The Government's briefing notes on both proposals are available online.
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.