There are some changes to employment law coming this year in the UK, which you might not be aware of. 

Parental bereavement leave rights take effect

The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 is expected to come into force in April 2020.

This will entitle employees to a period of leave following the death of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service will be entitled to paid leave at the statutory rate and other employees will be entitled to unpaid leave.

See the XpertHR guidance and model policies and documents on Compassionate leave and bereavement leave.

Extension of the right to a written statement to all workers

From 6 April 2020, employers must give all workers (not just employees) a written statement of particulars from their first day of employment.

This is a change from the current position under which employers must issue the statement to employees within their first two months of employment.

Employers should begin to prepare the statements at the recruitment stage, ensuring that all the required content is included.

See the XpertHR guidance and model policies and documents on Written statements of terms and conditions of employment.

Increase in the holiday pay reference period from 12 weeks to 52 weeks

The reference period for the purpose of calculating holiday pay for workers with irregular hours will change from 12 to 52 weeks.

From 6 April 2020, employers will need to look back over the past 52 weeks, discarding any weeks that a worker did not earn pay, to calculate their average weekly pay.

See the XpertHR guidance and model policies and documents on Annual leave and holiday pay.

IR35 changes for the private sector

These changes are probably not that relevant to the pest management industry, but it's worth noting for info.

Reforms to the intermediaries legislation (IR35) in the public sector are due be extended to medium and large private-sector employers from 6 April 2020.

Responsibility for determining if IR35 applies to independent contractors will shift to the organisation engaging the individual.

The rules are aimed at reducing tax avoidance for off-payroll contractors employed via personal service companies.

Employers should review the contracts and pay arrangements for their contractors to determine how the new rules will affect them.

See the XpertHR guidance and model policies and documents on Tax and deductions from pay.

Brexit

Following the EU’s agreement to extend the date of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU to 31 January 2020, employers should continue to keep up to date with developments.

While there is still much uncertainty about Brexit, there are practical steps that HR can take.

These include writing to employees who are European Economic Area (EEA) nationals to urge them to apply for settled or pre-settled status, so that they can remain living and working in the UK indefinitely.

See the XpertHR guidance and model policies and documents on Brexit.

For more information visit the XpertHR website.