Ringing the employment law changes for the new year

Written by Ian Grimshaw | Employment Team |14 November 2023

Last week, the UK Government responded to consultations on retained EU employment laws, seeking improvements post-Brexit. Key areas included the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), Working Time Regulations (WTR), and holiday pay calculations.

This has resulted in a number of changes likely coming into effect from 1 January 2024 when EU supremacy over UK law ends.

1. Working Time Regulations Record Keeping:

Following a Court of Justice of the European Union decision in 2019, there was uncertainty whether UK businesses needed to keep detailed daily and weekly working time records for each worker. The Court suggested that record-keeping requirements were more onerous than the Working Time Regulations suggested.

Government action: Legislation has been issued to clarify that detailed daily working hours records are not required, easing the previously anticipated administrative burden. This decision maintains the status quo of 'adequate' record keeping, aligning with existing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance.

2. Annual Leave and Holiday Pay:

There were suggestions that the Government might unify annual leave entitlements, but the Government decided against a single leave entitlement, maintaining separate "pots" (four weeks due under EU law and 1.6 weeks under domestic legislation) due to the different payment rates; however, it plans to clarify "normal remuneration" definitions, which will be helpful given the confusion created over the last few years.

3. Holiday Accrual for Irregular and Part-Year Workers:

In response to the Harpur Trust decision, the Government will legislate a 12.07% accrual method for holiday entitlement for these workers, simplifying management for employers and allowing rolled-up holiday pay.

4. TUPE Consultation Requirements:

The "micro business" exemption in TUPE, allowing direct consultation with employees during transfers, will extend to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees and small transfers involving fewer than 10 employees.

Summary

Recent court decisions have led to uncertainty and, in some cases, odd situations. These reforms go some way to bring back simplicity and flexibility.