Author: Duane Morris

On 26 October 2026, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (WPA) will come into effect, alongside updated guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Under the WPA, employers will face new proactive duties to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This significant shift means that it’s no longer enough to react to incidents after they occur; employers must now take reasonable steps to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Failure to comply with these strengthened protections could result in substantial financial penalties, including a potential 25% uplift on any employment tribunal awards ‒ a risk that no business can afford to ignore. Given the uncapped damages associated with discrimination claims, the stakes have never been higher.

This update will break down what these legal changes mean for your business and provide practical guidance on how to remain compliant. By understanding and acting on these new obligations now, you can create a safer work environment and protect your organization from significant legal and financial repercussions.

Continue reading “Unreasonable Actions Require (All) Reasonable Steps: UK Developments in Workplace Sexual Harassment Policy”

On 10 October 2024, the Labour government published the Employment Rights Bill. While the content was not surprising, given much was detailed heavily in their Plan to Make Work Pay campaign document, what is a surprise is how much of the specifics of the strengthened rights are subject to consultation. In the Next Steps to Make Work Pay policy paper published by the Department of Business and Trade, we have been advised that the government “expect to begin consulting on these reforms in 2025, seeking significant input from all stakeholders, and anticipate this meaning that the majority of reforms will take effect no earlier than 2026. Reforms of unfair dismissal will take effect no sooner than autumn 2026.”

Notwithstanding the long runway the Employment Rights Bill has to implementation, it would be prudent for employers to get to grips with the pending legislative changes in order to ensure a safe landing as the bill becomes law.

Continue reading “Power to the People (to Be Consulted) –The UK Employment Rights Bill 2024”

The practical details on proposals for employment legislation reform under Labour’s plan within the first 100 days of the new government has yet to be clearly defined, and the reason may be that much of the detail is still to be agreed upon within Whitehall.

“Intense” Conversations

The recent discussions between Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds regarding probationary periods are a case in point.

Angela Rayner has been a vocal advocate for Day One rights for workers following a short probation period and this remains her position. Jonathan Reynolds however is cognisant of the views of many businesses that Day One rights and a short probationary period could lead to a swift increase in tribunal claims for unfair dismissal which are costly to businesses, both in terms of time and money. As such the Business Secretary is pushing for a minimum nine-month probationary period.

Continue reading “Taking a Proactive Approach to Probationary Periods”

The General Election on 4 July is now imminent, and it seems likely that on Wednesday 17 July 2024, Parliament will be opening with a Labour government, meaning more changes to employment legislation in a year that has seen new legislation, and amends to existing legislation, on an almost monthly basis.

The implications of a Labour government could be far reaching and impactful across all organisations, and employers would be advised to read and consider the proposals raised by the Labour party regarding reforms to current employment legislation and practices under their Plan to Make Work Pay.

Continue reading “Required Holiday Reading ‒ Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay”

As we enter mid-May, with the anticipation of brighter days ahead, we reflect on the many changes to employment legislation so far in 2024, particularly regulations that benefit carers and those taking family leave that became effective in April.

On 6 April 2024, the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 brought into effect the rights set out under the Carer’s Leave Act 2023, which provides carers with a statutory right to unpaid leave to assist in their caring responsibilities.

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 also came into force on 6 April 2024, as well as amendments to paternity leave ‒ both of which apply to cases where the expected week of childbirth or placement is on or after 6 April 2024.

Continue reading “Brighter Days for Care Providers?”

If 2023 was the year that generative AI entered mainstream consciousness, 2024 will be the year generative AI became part of mainstream establishment following an explosion of growth in users, both commercial and personal.

Full disclosure from the outset: This article is not a product of generative AI and does not discuss the technology and advancements of AI models. Rather this article seeks to highlight some of the workplace issues that may be facing organisations as generative AI becomes an integral part of our working lives.

The discussions of the benefits and pitfalls of generative AI and models such as Google Bard, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, ChatGPT and DALL-E have been widespread, and show no sign of abating. The number of organisations expanding or implementing the use of predictive AI and generative AI models is ever increasing, as is the number of employees becoming aware of the benefits of using AI models in their own daily tasks.

Whilst AI is by no means a new concept, the integration of generative AI models into organisations has been exponentially rapid. A survey undertaken by KPMG in March and June 2023 found that 20% of businesses were already using generative AI and 67% of executives confirmed that budget was allocated towards generative AI technology.

Continue reading “AI in the Workplace ‒ Embrace or Evade?”

On 1 January 2024, the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 became law, bringing into force a number of amendments to the right to annual leave and the right to holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Further changes will become effective next week, on or after 1 April 2024, regarding holiday pay and entitlement to irregular hours and part-year workers.

Continue reading “No Spring Break in Calculating Holiday Pay!”

The first of April is synonymous with April Fools’ Day ‒ and this year, the date will also be anticipated by many as the first day of British Summer Time. However for UK employers, 1 April 2024 also marks the beginning of a month in which a number of employment law changes come into effect. These laws will impact workers across all sectors irrespective of the employer’s size or industry.

It is essential that employers are aware of these employment law changes and are ready for the impact on their current policies and practices. To assist, we have set out reminders of the key forthcoming changes and the actions that employers should now be taking.

Continue reading “Spring Clean Your Employment Policies”

In last week’s update on Labour’s proposed policy reforms, we discussed action taken by the government in response to P&O Ferries’ dismissal of nearly 800 employees in 2022 without due consultation.

The government first announced a new statutory code on 29 March 2022 which sought to introduce measures around “fire and rehire” practices ‒ a term referring to when employers dismiss employees and then re-engage them on new contracts with often less favourable terms. There then followed the first draft Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement, which was published over a year ago in January 2023.

Last week, on 19 February 2024, following a 12-week consultation, the government published an updated draft Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-Engagement with the intent to “crack down on employers mistreating employees”.

The draft code states that: 

Continue reading “Updated Code on ‘Fire and Rehire’ ‒ Cracking Down or Lacking Bite?”

The London Times has reported again on Labour’s proposals for a radical reform of UK employment law. The Times reports that Sir Keir Starmer has framed Labour as the “party of business” ‒ but in our view, the pledges in Labour’s “new deal for working people” perhaps jar with that definition.

As we have reported previously, Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, promises a “revolution” in employment law legislation within 100 days of an election of a Labour government.

Depending on your view, the reforms are either an exciting and necessary change to enable a fair employment deal ‒ or are worrying and potentially very expensive for employers and likely to cause more workplace disputes. In this update, we delve into some of the most critical of these proposed reforms.

Continue reading “More News on Labour’s Proposed Employment Law Revolution”