Employment Bill
The government is proposing to enact a new Employment Bill which would apply mainly to England, Wales and Scotland covering the following areas:-
Tips to go to workers in full
Treatment of tips and service charges has been the subject of consultation and subsequent government announcements and in October 2019 the government proposed legislation to require employers to pass on all tips and service charges to workers to be supported by a statutory code of practice to ensure that tips would be distributed on a fair and transparent basis.
The right to request a more predictable contract
The government had previously indicated an intention to pass legislation to introduce a right for all workers to request a more predictable and stable contract after 26 weeks’ service under the Good Work plan following the Taylor Review.
A single enforcement body – again as part of the Good Work Plan, the government announced proposals for a single labour market enforcement agency to ensure that vulnerable workers are aware of and are able to exercise their rights and which also supports business compliance. A consultation on these proposals closed on 6 October 2019.
Extension of redundancy protection to prevent maternity and pregnancy discrimination
The previously announced proposal was that the period of redundancy protection would be extended from the point an employee notifies their employer of their pregnancy whether verbally or in writing until 6 months after the end of the maternity leave. This contrasts with the current position where protection only applies during the currency of maternity leave.
Extended leave for neo-natal care
A government consultation on a new right to neo-natal leave and pay to support parents of premature or sick babies closed on 11 October 2019.
Making flexible working the default
Again, as set out in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto the government has announced an intention (subject to a consultation process) to make flexible working the default position unless the employer has a good reason not to comply.
We can probably expect to see legislation dealing with all of the above issues during the course of 2020.
