Whilst we now have a new UK government, employers, payroll and employment law professionals should not forget the last parliamentary session as we wait for developments later this year, all affecting employers, and most impacting payroll. It is made more difficult that there are two employment law jurisdictions (i.e., Great Britain and Northern Ireland). So, a UK government announcement about changes to employment rights cannot apply UK-wide unless the two jurisdictions pass mirroring legislation. Increasingly, and perhaps inconveniently, this is not happening, as can be seen below.
Looking Back…And Forward
If I am a medical practitioner who only deals with foot-related issues, I am a Chiropodist. Just as a general practitioner considers the body from head to toe, payroll professionals need to consider all the UK’s nations; otherwise, we become nation-specific professionals rather than UK ones. Before the general election, the previous government passed five pieces of employment primary legislation that apply where the employee is ordinarily resident in Great Britain. It is important that we have these Acts of Parliament. However, they mean little if secondary legislation has not brought them into force. So, in the early days of this new parliamentary session, keep an eye on the commencement of the following:
-
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (the ‘Tipping Act’)
The Tipping Act provides that employers must ensure workers are allocated tips and service charges fairly and transparently. Employers will be supported by a non-statutory Code of Practice (CoP) to help them develop allocation policies and procedures. This was approved by the UK Parliament on 24 May 2024 (the day the session was prorogued before the general election). However, ‘commencement regulations’ have not been passed to bring the CoP or the provisions of the Act into force. This was expected on 1 July 2024; it is now expected on 1 October 2024.
-
The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023
This Act allows workers to ask their employer for a revised contract if their current one contains an unpredictable work pattern (e.g., the type of work, the hours of work and the days of work). Employers will be able to develop policies, practices and procedures in accordance with a statutory CoP that was open for consultation; it is now closed. So, we await the approved CoP and, again, commencement regulations to bring this into force; it is expected in September 2024.
-
Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023
This Act received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and is due to come into force one year after that date, pending commencement regulations. There is no CoP to aid employers in developing suitable policies and procedures to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.
-
Statutory Neonatal Leave and Pay Act 2023
This Act provides an employee with the unconditional right to leave (and a conditional right to pay) where a child receives neonatal care in the first 28 days of life. Where the employee meets all the eligibility conditions, they will be entitled to an additional 12 weeks of leave (and pay) on top of any entitlement to other statutory leave such as maternity, paternity, etc. HMRC confirms this will be effective from April 2025; however, it has not issued guidance for software developers. There is not much time left for such an important new statutory payment, and we are very much dependent on having this facilitated by payroll software.
-
The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024
This Act was saved during the short parliamentary wash-up period. In birth and adoptions, it allows the ‘father’ or secondary adopter the immediate right to paternity leave where the mother, primary adopter or child dies. So, previously, the employee would not be entitled to take paternity leave, as there was no primary carer or child to support; the Act disregards this. Yet, the Act is nothing without commencement regulations, which may or may not make changes to it.
Practical Tip
Employment law and payroll are intrinsically linked – think maternity. The right to leave is an employment right, but the right to be paid requires other legislation. And employment law is a devolved responsibility in Northern Ireland. Employment rights and the right to payment do not apply UK-wide.
