HR & LEGAL SERVICES FOR YOUR BUSINESS 27 March 2024 | AshtonsLegal.co.uk
All the latest Employment & HR news for your business
Holiday pay – updated 2024 guidance for irregular and part year workers
The Department for Business and Trade released new guidance on the holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024.
The guidance goes through changes to the Working Time Regulations and covers the meaning of an irregular hours worker and a part-year worker, holiday entitlement for these workers, carry-over of leave and holiday pay calculations.
The guidance sets out examples as to who would be irregular and part-year workers which is useful. It also explains that part-year workers with fixed hours, for example, teaching assistants who only work during term-time, and who are paid only when working, would count as part-year workers. However, workers with an annualised (flat) salary over 12 months would not count as a part-year worker as there are no weeks where such a worker is not receiving pay.
The guidance covers the accrual of statutory holiday entitlement for irregular hours and part-year workers for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, when holiday entitlement will be calculated as 12.07% of actual hours worked in a pay period.
Save the Date! Our HR & Employment Law Annual Conference
Our annual HR & Employment Law Conference returns on 4 July 2024!
Keep your eyes peeled, as tickets will be going on sale soon.
Flexible working: has the landscape changed?
Employees looking for a better balance between the demands of work and personal life may seek a permanent change in their working arrangements, for example, through part-time working, job-sharing or a change in working hours. While employees cannot insist their proposal for working in a different way is accepted, they do have a statutory right to ask for a flexible working arrangement and to have that request seriously considered.
This is exactly what happened in the case of Wilson v Financial Conduct Authority.
Changes to statutory paternity leave from April 2024
The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 are set to make changes to how statutory paternity leave is managed.
New parents will be able to take statutory paternity leave at any point in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child and will be able to split their leave into two separate blocks of one week. The notice period is also changing.
The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will come into effect on 6 April 2024.
The employment guidance for business portal
We have an easily accessible Ashtons Legal Online HR Portal for businesses, which contains over 95 HR documents, templates and draft letters, covering over 14 topics such as contracts and offer letters, disciplinary issues, flexible working, performance management, family leave, sickness absence, recruitment, termination of employment and redundancy.
If you would like unlimited one-year access to this portal, we charge £325 plus VAT.
Please get in touch by emailing us on enquiries@ashtonslegal.co.uk.
Employment Law update
Employers need to be aware of several areas where legislation is currently at various stages of development and upcoming changes in 2024.
The following are of note:
- Working Time Regulations – holiday entitlement and pay reforms
- National Minimum Wage
- The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act
- The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act
- The Carer’s Leave Act
- The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024
- The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023
- The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act
- Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023
- Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill
You can find out more details in our full article by clicking 'Read more' below.
Employment Law Facts & Figures - 6 April 2024
Our handy guide to the latest key employment law facts and figures to help you keep up to date with the latest regulations.
Ashtons Training Programme
These interactive courses are jointly run by Ashtons Legal and Ashtons HR Consulting in person or on Microsoft Teams.
The current dates and topics are:
- 17 April - Equality and diversity in the workplace
- 22 May - Managing employee investigations
- 19 June - Managing health issues and disabilities in the workplace
- 11 Sept - Menopause and the workplace: manager guidance
- 25 Sept & 2 Oct: 2 Parts - Employment law awareness for line managers
- 16 Oct: Immigration and right-to-work checks
- 13 Nov: Appraisals and performance management
All the info you need to know is on our Eventbrite where you can book your place!
Please remember that Ashtons Legal is available to assist you and your business with their full range of business, individual and injury law services including commercial and residential property, corporate advice, dispute resolution, family law, estate planning, personal injury and medical negligence.
We Can Help You
For specific advice for your business, please get in touch with our specialist Employment Law team on enquiry@ashtonslegal.co.uk or by calling 0330 404 0778.
The consultants at Ashtons HR Consulting are able to assist you with specialised advice from experienced HR Consultants. You can contact them by calling 0333 222 0989 or by emailing enquiry@ashtonhrconsulting.co.uk.
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