First published on Thursday, May 25, 2023
Last updated on Thursday, May 25, 2023
Have you heard the latest news?
Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we give you a rundown of the week's top employment law stories. Stay on the pulse of current trends impacting your business, plus get up-to-the-minute commentaries on all things HR and legal.
So, let’s check out this week’s headlines…
Laws that will NOT change in the EU law review
In our most recent HR Heartbeat, EU law edition, we spoke in-depth about the first set of EU laws that are changing. But we didn’t cover the laws that will not change after the review.
As far as we’re aware, the following laws will not be changed:
- Maternity, paternity, adoption, and parental leave laws.
- Laws protecting part-time workers, fixed-term employees, and promoting the equal treatment of agency workers.
- And all areas of the Working Time Regulations and TUPE, (which have not already been earmarked for change).
Changing data protection laws?
Around 600 laws are listed for removal, but interestingly the Data Protection Act is not one of them.
However, the government has already suggested that it will make the current data protection simpler and more straightforward as part of the EU law review, so it looks like change is still on the cards. Stay up to date and follow BrightHR for the latest announcements.
Data protection and GDPR jargon got you in a tizz? Download our GDPR Glossary of Terms.
Rolled up holiday pay for ALL workers
Rolled up holiday pay, is where employers add an increase to the hourly rate of pay to reflect holiday pay, instead of paying holiday at the time it’s taken.
And as more detail is shed on the re-emergence of rolled up holiday pay, it appears the UK government will change the law to enable the practice for ALL workers, not just zero-hour contract workers and other ad hoc workers.
This will mean that someone who works the same hours for the same pay every week or month can be paid rolled up holiday pay.
For up-to-date and instant advice ask BrightHR Lightning: When can I use rolled up holiday pay?
Labour plans
The Labour Party has set out the changes they’ll make should they win the next general election.
Changes include:
- Permitting equal pay comparisons across employers.
- Ensuring employees get reasonable notice of changes in shifts and compensation when shifts are cancelled at short notice.
- Introducing “fair pay agreements” starting at first with the adult social care sector. A process where employer and worker representatives would negotiate minimum standards, such as pay.
- Ensuring National Minimum Wage rates consider the cost of living.
- And the party has also indicated it will consider putting the ‘right to disconnect’ into law.
And that’s a wrap. Tune in next week for more headlines and make sure you stay ahead of major employment law changes!