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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.

More predictable working patterns for all workers

The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 has received Royal Assent. This means all workers, including those on zero-hours contracts and agency workers, will have the right to request a predictable working pattern if their existing pattern lacks certainty with respect to the hours or times worked.

This will also apply to those on fixed-term contracts that last less than 12 months. But before a request can be made,26 weeks of service is likely to be needed.

Employers will have to notify the employee of their decision within one month and refusal is permitted only on one of the prescribed grounds.

Acas are producing a new Code of Practice and it’s expected these new rights could take up to a year to come in.

Pension auto-enrolment to be extended

The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 has also just received Royal Assent. This will lower the age at which eligible workers must be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme by their employers from 22 to 18.

The lower earnings limit will also be removed. A consultation will be launched by the Department for Work and Pensions on implementing the new measures and it is likely that these changes will take effect around a year from now.

Employment tribunal stats (Q1 2023/2024)

The employment tribunal statistics for quarter 1 (April, May, and June) 2023 have been released!

Compared with this time last year, there has been around a 17% increase in the total number of employee claims.

The area that’s seen the biggest increase in claims is for failure to provide a written statement of terms and conditions— which has increased by a whopping 186% since 2022/2023.

For example, in 2022/2023 quarter 1 there were 496 claims and in **2023/24 quarter 1 there were 1,422 claims.

Clearly, these stats show employers need help getting terms and conditions straight from day one. That’s where BrightHR comes in.

As part of our advice package, you get access to a library of expertly written HR documents, including employment contracts and handbooks, how-to guides, factsheets, and templates.

All expertly written, to help you make a great first impression and keep your business safe from employee claims at a tribunal, from day one to their last day.

And that’s a wrap. Tune in next week for more headlines and make sure you stay ahead of major employment law changes!