Employment law & HR legislation effective already
Effective now
On 6 October 2023, the Government updated its guidance “Getting the most out of the fit note: guidance for employers and line managers”.
One of the more significant changes was the provision of a checklist. This provides detailed key points to discuss with employees following submission of their fit note. That checklist includes:
Check if your employee ‘may be fit for work’, discuss their fit note with them and see if you can agree any changes, including workplace modifications or reasonable adjustment to support them to stay in, or return to, work.
Consider making a referral to an occupational health provider.
The fit note should cover the duration that the employee is likely to require adaptation or unable to work. A review date may be set by the healthcare professional. Check how long your employee’s fit note applies for.
Maintain regular contact with your employee throughout the period and get a sense of if/when the employee feels ready to review any workplace modifications or return to work. ACAS provides advice on keeping in touch during absence.
The name of the issuer, the profession and the address of the medical practice should be completed to make it a valid form. If you receive an old template, then the fit note must be signed in ink by the healthcare professional.
A change to the current regime is expected this autumn, planned to vary the approach on employees being signed off for months at a time.
Effective 21 July 2022The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022, SI 2022/852, repealed regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, SI 2003/3319, which made it a criminal offence for an employment business to knowingly (including having reasonable grounds for knowing) provide temporary workers to an employer to perform the duties of workers taking part in an official strike or other official industrial action.
Thereby enabling employment businesses to provide agency workers to hirers during official strike or industrial action.
The British Standards Institute (BSI) has published a new workplace standard titled ‘BS 30416, Menstruation, menstrual health and menopause in the workplace‘, it recognises the challenges, symptoms and experiences of both menopause and menstrual health and how these can affect women in the workplace.
BS 30416 is a free, practical toolkit for businesses of all sizes and sectors. Developed by experts in the field of menstruation, menopause, HR and occupational health and academics, it aims to help organisations identify the misconceptions around menstruation and menopause. It also identifies the impact of stigma surrounding these topics on workplace cultures and support.
The standard helps businesses to take action to make their workplace more inclusive. It contains examples of actions and adjustments that can improve employees’ wellbeing. Examples include:
Physical aspects of work
Policy guidance and practices
Supportive workplace cultures
Work design
Inclusivity
Evaluation and metrics
Effective some time in 2024The Employment Bill that comes into force in 2024 will require 100% of service charges to be distributed fairly, transparently, and consistently to staff, including agency workers.
The legislation does not cover those who are in business for themselves. Some, but not all, hairdressers, beauticians, taxi drivers etc. may well be self-employed. However, there have been a number of successful legal challenges regarding self-employed status, resulting in their re-designation as ‘workers’.
A statutory Code of Practice is needed to breathe life into this fairly complex piece of legislation. The Government intends to consult stakeholders and it could take another twelve months before everything is clear.
Businesses will also be required to publish tips and service charge policies prominently – both for staff and for customers. Plus, they must account to each member of staff personally for their share. There will be strict deadlines to do this and significant penalties for breaches. Staff will be able to pursue claims in the employment tribunal.
The ‘tronc’ system already, widely used in the hospitality sector to distribute tips and service charges among staff, is unlikely to be disturbed.
However, under the new legislation, tips and service charges cannot be shared beyond each individual establishment. 100% must be distributed fairly to the staff at that location.
On 14 December 2022, the High Court granted permission to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on behalf of 11 unions, NASUWT and Unison, to bring judicial review proceedings challenging the Conduct (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
This represents millions of workers across a wide range of sectors across the UK.
There will be a single hearing as part of the judicial review, with a judgment expected within a few months.
Looking for some expert help with employment law? Check out Moorepay's experts for HR & employment law services.
