Changes in Employment Law for 2020

March 24, 2020

Back in December 2019, the Queen outlined 40 or more new potential Employment Laws which could be brought in over the next 12 months, relating to: –

  • Workers access to information on their rights
  • Fair distribution of tips/ service charges
  • Provision of stable and predictable working contracts
  • Extension of Redundancy Protection for those on Maternity leave
  • Leave for parents with premature/ sick babies
  • Rights to leave for unpaid carers
  • Normalisation of Flexible Working hours

With the dates for introduction of each of these as yet unknown, we thought we’d concentrate on 6 pieces of Employment Legislation which will come into effect next month:

New rates for statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay
Having been proposed in a paper and put to the House of Commons, from April 2020, these are expected to be as follows: –

  • Sick pay will be increased to £95.85 (from £94.25)
  • Maternity pay and maternity allowance will increase to £151.20 (from £148.68)
  • Paternity pay will increase to £151.20 (from £148.68)
  • Shared parental pay will increase to £151.20 (from £148.68)
  • Adoption pay will increase to £151.20 (from £148.68)

National Minimum Wage changes
A rise in National Minimum Wage as of the 1st April will bring into effect the following new hourly rates: –

  • Those 25 and over will receive £8.72 (up from £8.21)
  • Those aged 21 to 24 will receive £8.20 (up from £7.70)
  • Those aged 18 to 20 will receive £6.45 (up from £6.15)
  • Those under 18 will receive £4.55 (up from £4.35)

Apprentices will be entitled to the Apprentice Rate if they are under 19 years of age or in their first year of apprenticeship.

Right to a Statement of Terms
Currently, employees who have been employed for more than one month must be provided with a written statement of working terms within two months of their employment commencing.

As of 6th April, this will be required from the very first day of employment, meaning that employers need to have this documentation in place whilst recruiting. With such information needing to be included: –

  • the period of time during the week which the employee is required to work, and if it may be varied and how
  • entitlements to any paid leave
  • any other benefits not covered somewhere else in the written statement of particulars
  • details of any probationary period
  • details of training provided by the employer’s Company

Agency Workers Rights
The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 entitled agency workers to the same pay and basic working conditions as direct employees (after 12 weeks of continuous service).

An exemption meant that those employed on a permanent contract with the temping agency, being paid between individual assignments, had no right to claim this equal pay.

From 6th April 2020 this exemption will be removed, and every agency worker will receive equal pay after 12 weeks continuous service.

Bereavement Leave and Pay
The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 is expected to come into force this April, following on from the campaigning of ‘Jack’s Law’.

Bereaved parents will then have the right to 2 weeks of leave following the loss of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Those with more than 26 weeks’ continuous service will also be entitled to receive statutory parental bereavement pay.

Calculation of Holiday Pay for variable workers
Holiday pay for workers who don’t have fixed or regular hours is currently calculated from the average number of hours worked over the previous 12 weeks. This was introduced due to health and safety requirements to defer people from working for alarmingly long periods of time and sustaining a healthy work-life balance.

As of 6th April amendments to the Working Time Regulations 1998 mean that the ‘holiday reference period’ will now be 52 weeks and the holiday pay will be calculated from an average of this extended time.

Changes in Employment Law for 2020
At CoLaw we will of course keep up to date with all new or amended Employment Law upon your behalf and highlight the changes which will directly affect your business. If you would like to know more then get in touch!

The information provided in all of our blogs reflects only a narrative of some elements to consider on the topic. The blogs do not contain considered legal advice and should not be relied upon as advice. Please see our website terms and conditions for full details of our disclaimer. If you are interested in obtaining advice, please contact one of our lawyers who will be happy and able to advise you on your own particular circumstances.

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