Employment Law Bulletin

• Redundancy Protection Changes
• Carer’s Leave
• Paternity Leave
• Annual Leave & Holiday Pay
• What Action Should Employers Take?

Major changes in relation to redundancy, carer’s leave, paternity leave and annual leave and holiday pay are coming into force in April 2024.

As such, this month’s Employment Law Bulletin sets out a summary of these updates, highlighting actions Employers should consider.

If you have any questions about any of the topics covered or would like to meet with our Employment team please call Martin Stephen on 0141 248 3434 or email mss@wjm.co.uk

 

Redundancy Protection Changes

As employers will already be aware, in redundancy matters, employees that are on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave are entitled to an extra redundancy protection - being the right of first refusal of any other alternative jobs available. From the 6th April 2024, various changes are coming into place:

• Pregnancy
Employees will be protected for their entire pregnancy, from the date that they notify their employer of their pregnancy.

• Maternity leave
Protection will now begin from the first day of the estimated week of childbirth. The 18 month protection period can be altered to start from the date of childbirth, provided that the employee writes to the employer with the actual date of childbirth during their maternity leave.

• Adoption leave
The 18 month protection now begins from the date of placement for adoption, whereas previously employees were only protected for the duration of absence on adoption leave.

• Shared parental leave
This is now protected for 18 months from birth or placement for adoption provided that the employee has taken a period of at least six weeks of shared parental leave. However, this protection can only be applied to those who are not protected by the above changes.

Protected during a period of absence on shared parental leave only applies if fewer than 6 consecutive weeks of leave are taken.

• Miscarriage
Employees who suffer a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy have a two-week protection following the miscarriage. Those who miscarry after 24 weeks have the same protection as those who are on maternity leave.

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Carer’s Leave

On 6 April 2024, The Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 come into force, setting out the statutory scheme under which employees can apply for up to one week of unpaid carer’s leave in any 12 month period.

The right applies to Employees with a dependent who has a long-term care need and wish to be absent from work to provide or arrange care for that dependent. This is a Day 1 employment right and requests can be consecutive or non-consecutive; half or full days.

Employees are protected from detriment and dismissal from taking or requesting to take Carer’s leave, or because the employer believes they are likely to take Carer’s leave.

Employee’s responsibilities:
• Submit written notice of intention to take carer’s leave and confirm their entitlement to take it
• Give either twice amount of notice than the period of leave requested, or three days’ notice – whichever is longest.

Employer responsibilities:
• Employers are able to postpone a request if the operation of the business would be unduly disrupted. In such a scenario, the employer must give notice of the postponement before the leave is due to begin, explaining why it is necessary.
• Following a period of postponement, the employer must allow the leave to be taken within one month of the start date of the original requested leave.

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Paternity Leave

The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 set out changes to paternity rights, and will apply to all scenarios where the expected week of childbirth is on or after 6 April 2024.

The changes include:
• Two week paternity leave entitlement as two separate blocks of one week
• The ability to take leave at any time in the 52 weeks after childbirth
• Employees will only be required to give 28 days’ notice of intention to take paternity leave. Previously required to give notice at least 15 weeks in advance of the expected week of childbirth.

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Annual Leave & Holiday Pay

Perhaps the most significant and complex change that Employers will see come into force next month is the new annual leave and holiday pay accrual process for part-year and irregular hour workers.

There is a major change commencing on 1 April 2024 for part-year and irregular hour workers. Their rights will now be set out in Regulation 15B Working Time Regulations 1998 and no longer within Regulation 13 and Regulation 13A.

A summary of the changes are outlined below, however a more in-depth explanation can be found here.

Summary of the Changes
For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, the new accrual method for irregular hour and part-year workers is that holiday’s will be calculated as 12.07% of actual hours worked in a pay period.

The calculation method:
1. Divide the hours worked in pay period by 100
2. Multiply the answer to Step 1 by 12.07
3. Round up or down to the nearest hour

Example, an irregular worker who works 68 hours, accrues 8 hours of holiday during that month.
(68/100 = 0.68 ; 0.68 x 12.07 = 8.2076 ; round to 8)

The regulation also introduces rolled-up holiday pay as an alternative method to calculate holiday pay for irregular hour workers and part-year workers.

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What Action Should Employers Take?

• Update their existing policies to reflect the above extended protections.
• Take measures to ensure that any employee that is entitled to the extended protections coming into force, such as the 18 month period of redundancy protection are not forgotten about in the event that a redundancy scenario occurs.
• Ensure that their employees at management level are aware of the extended protections and these are accounted for within redundancy proposals during the formative stage.

If you have any questions about any of the topics covered or would like to meet with our Employment team please call Martin Stephen on 0141 248 3434 or email mss@wjm.co.uk

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