The Government has recently introduced several amendments to the Employment Rights Bill following a period of consultation.
Agency Workers
Significant changes have been introduced to the Employment Rights Bill which, when implemented, will amend the current framework of agency work. The following rights will be extended to agency workers:
- Guaranteed Hours – a right for low and zero hours workers, who satisfy certain conditions, to be offered guaranteed hours at the end of the relevant pay reference period. The end hirer will be responsible for offering guaranteed hours.
- Reasonable Notice - the right to reasonable notice of shifts and shift changes. The employment agency and end hirer will be responsible for providing reasonable notice. The Tribunal will be able to apportion liability based on the responsibility of each party.
- Cancellation Payments – the right to compensation if a shift is cancelled or moved at short notice. The employment agency will be responsible for short notice cancellation payments. However, if they have an arrangement with the hirer, these costs may be recouped.
Exceptions
The amendments to the Bill include exceptions to the above, which may be a relief to employers.
- Contracting Out – if agreed by a collective agreement, the provisions on guaranteed hours, reasonable notice and cancellation payments can be contracted out. However, replacement terms must be incorporated in the affected contracts.
- Genuine Need – if there is a genuine temporary work need, the requirement to offer guaranteed hours may not apply. It will be interesting to see how widely this exception is interpreted.
How Could This Impact You?
Whilst the changes provide further clarity, they also raise additional questions. We do not yet know what is meant by “temporary”, nor what might be considered a “genuine need”.
The definition of “short notice” and the “reference period” for guaranteed hours are yet to be finalised, though the latter is expected to be 12 weeks.
Collective Redundancies
The cap on protective awards in collective redundancy situations will increase from 90 days’ pay per employee to 180 days. This means employees may receive higher compensation if their employer does not comply with collective consultation requirements.
Initially, the Bill was due to remove the ‘one establishment’ rule, which would have meant collective redundancy obligations applied whenever 20 or more employees were being made redundant across a business (even if spread across multiple sites, or ‘establishments’). However, an amendment alters this. If employees are being made redundant at more than one establishment, regulations may prescribe the number of employees (higher than 20) to determine when collective consultation applies.
Statutory Sick Pay
Under changes to the Bill, employees will no longer need to earn more than the lower earnings limit (currently £123/week) to be eligible for statutory sick pay. Low-paid workers will be eligible for 80% of their weekly earnings from their first day of sickness.
Trade Unions
The headline changes in relation to trade unions will include:
- Requiring a 10-day notice period for industrial action, increased from seven days as proposed in the initial draft.
- Providing that secondary legislation may determine fines to be issued for non-compliance with the right of access.
- Repealing provisions which required a 50% industrial action turnout threshold. This will be dealt with in separate regulations.
What’s Next?
The Bill is subject to further amendments and is far from finalised. The introduction of changes will likely significantly alter working practices. At Tozers, our specialist Employment Team offers tailored legal advice to help assist with the challenges businesses face.
If you would like advice, get in touch with us on 01392 207020.
