Although it may potentially lead to significant shifts in employment practices, we don’t yet know what the changes will definitely look like, or what might be watered down along the way.
Read more: Employment Rights Bill: HR reacts
As such, it’s a better use of HR professionals’ energy to pause and wait for more detail before leaping into action and committing to wholesale changes or investments.
There’s plenty to get grips with in the meantime:
- The duty to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment has been in force since October 2024. The ERB tweaks this to taking “all reasonable steps,” but let’s park that for now. Employers should be scanning their organisations, identifying potential issues, conducting training and regular reviews, taking any complaints seriously, and ensuring that appropriate grievance and disciplinary procedures are followed. In short, get legal advice early; prevention is better than (crisis-PR-necessitating) cure.
- National Insurance changes are coming in April 2025. The rate is increasing from 13.8% to 15%, and thresholds are changing too. It’s hard to summarise the impact because it will depend on the business. The main thing is to ensure you’re taking advice on the implications for your business. Suffice to say, I expect that increased NI costs will remain a factor in planning and decision-making, particularly in recruitment, alongside evaluation of the impact of the ERB.
- National minimum wage rates will increase as usual, in April 2025; another increased cost for businesses that pay their workers at minimum wage. Enforcement proposals, along with changes regarding zero-hours contracts in the ERB, mean that we’ll be coming back to this when we know more.
- Rights to neonatal care leave and pay are expected to come in from April 2025, but we’re still awaiting regulations setting out the details. I’ve included this here, though, because indications are that the government still plans to introduce this from April, so it’s one to watch.
- It’s never a bad time to audit your contracts and staff handbook. You could highlight the sections you anticipate needing to update once we know what the eventual Employment Rights Act will look like. Make a plan for making a plan, as it were.
Read more: King’s speech: HR reacts to incoming changes
As well as the ERB's headline change to make unfair dismissal a day-one right, there is plenty else to anticipate:
- No more 'waiting days' if statutory sick pay is payable from the first day of sickness absence. There may be a lower rate for lower earners.
- Workers on zero-hours contracts could request a contract guaranteeing their regular hours, and be entitled to reasonable notice of shifts, cancellations, or changes – as well as compensation for short-notice changes.
- More changes to sexual harassment laws could come too, including the tweak to require employers to take “all” reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Employers’ liability for third-party harassment could be introduced, making employers responsible for harassment by customers or clients, not just other employees.
- Family leave rights could be extended. Employees might become entitled to unpaid parental leave and paternity leave from day one of employment.
- And remember unfair dismissal rights from day one – alongside some form of statutory probation period that may permit curtailed processes for dismissals during probation.
Read more: Employment law changes: What HR needs to know
There’s certainly a lot coming in employment law, much of it driving huge changes. It’s essential to stay engaged and informed so you can successfully navigate the changes and create a compliant, people-centric workplace.
By Clare Chappell, employment lawyer and partner at Carbon Law Partners
