Search Results for: covid

14 12 2022

Tribunal backs care home for sacking staff over Covid jab status

Matthew Chilcott Employment Law, General #Covid Update, #covid-19, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Well, we knew this was coming and this is the first of what I expect will be many cases in relation to Covid and any dismissal that took place during this time. As we all know, the rules during the Covid period were changing continually with who could claim payment and who could not and could you use a Covid payment as part of their notice pay, to name just a few! This case has now demonstrated that it was fair to dismiss care workers for turning down the Covid vaccine due to the companies ‘legitimate aim” and not due to their spiritual and philosophical beliefs and that any interference with human rights in this case was proportionate. We wait to see how many more cases rear their heads and what the outcome of those are now that they are appearing at Employment Tribunals.”

NEWS ARTICLE – Tribunal backs care home for sacking staff over Covid jab status :

In what is believed to be the first published case of its kind, an employment tribunal in Leeds has decided that care home bosses acted fairly when they fired several members of staff for turning down the Covid vaccine. Barchester Healthcare dismissed five healthcare workers for declining Covid-19 vaccinations without any medical exemption. The workers complained they turned down the vaccine due to their spiritual and philosophical beliefs, but a judge ruled the firm had the “legitimate aim” of “minimising the risk of death and serious illness” among residents and staff, and that such a move was “necessary in a democratic society.” Employment judge Neil Maidment recognised that the reason for sacking the workers, while “unusual,” was “genuine and substantial” and said the company “believed its policy of (subject to medical exemption) only employing vaccinated care home staff would save lives.” He said: “The tribunal concludes that any interference with human rights in the circumstances of this case was proportionate.”

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Covid-19 has raised its head again with a recent Employment Tribunal case involving care workers. If you are experiencing any HR issues, please contact us now.

17 05 2022

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Matthew Chilcott

08 02 2021

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Matthew Chilcott

29 01 2021

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Matthew Chilcott

28 05 2020

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Matthew Chilcott

15 05 2020

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Matthew Chilcott

25 03 2024

Breathe HR

Matthew Chilcott

Welcome to Breathe HR in Partnership Consensus HR

Welcome

Hello & a big warm welcome to Breathe HR, in partnership with Consensus HR.

We understand just how confusing and time-consuming it can be to choose new software for your organisation. That’s why – to keep things simple. Working with our Partners – Consensus HR, we aim to provide you with everything you need to discover the benefits of switching to Breathe’s time-saving software and help you decide whether the system is right for you.

What is Breathe?

Breathe is a simple people-management platform that’s designed to help SMEs just like you to save time on tedious HR admin.

Our intuitive system brings all of your people-data together in one secure place, while allowing your people to log sickness, request holidays, update personal information, view documents and much more.

And, with Breathe’s flexible permissions settings, you can choose who has access to your team’s information, making it super-easy to keep sensitive data safe.

Key features include:

Holiday management

Sickness & absence tracking

Employee database

Document storage

Performance monitoring

Training management

Expense management

Rota scheduling

Time & Attendance

Applicant tracking

HR reporting

Online learning

Who are Breathe?

Back in 2012, Breathe built their multi-award-winning software with one thing in mind: to set SMEs free from time-consuming HR admin so they can focus on their people, build strong company cultures & drive their organisations forward.

Owned by leading cloud-based solution provider, ELMO Software, Breathe offers simple & cost-effective software that makes it super-easy to manage up to 200 employees.

Why over 13,000 SMEs love us

So why should you ditch the spreadsheets & filing cabinets and switch to Breathe?

Here’s why you won’t look back:

Save valuable time – Breathe helps you keep on top of day-to-day HR admin tasks like holiday requests, managing sickness and calculating allowances, so you can spend more time focussing on your people and growing your business. On average, our customers save up to 4 hours a week with Breathe.
Everything in one place – Breathe centralises your people data in the cloud, so you can find exactly what you need, when you need it.
Improve efficiency – Breathe’s easy-to-use system streamlines your everyday tasks whilst giving your people useful visibility of their holiday allowances, personal details and more – so you can wave goodbye to unnecessary admin.
Keep your data secure – With Breathe’s ISO27001-accredited software, you’ll have peace of mind that your data is in safe hands and you’re staying GDPR-compliant.
Put your people first – With self-service software that saves valuable time, you’ll improve your employee experience and have more time to focus on the driving-force of your organisation: your people.

Supporting you through tough times

It goes without saying that it’s a challenging time for small businesses, with many still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic whilst battling the cost of living crisis.

But, with Breathe you can:

Save hours of valuable time every week so you can focus on your business
Enjoy an attractive return on investment (ROI)
Enjoy a value-packed HR software that doesn’t break the bank
Change or cancel your plan at any time
Tailor your plan to your needs with a variety of additional modules

Cloud-based software & security

When we launched Breathe back in 2012, we chose to offer it as a cloud-based product rather than license-based.

Here’s why:

You can access your data from anywhere, rather than access being restricted to a few devices
No need to invest in new software servers or pay to increase the capacity of existing systems.
A subscription could be treated as an operational (rather than a capital) expense, providing major accountancy advantages.
Cloud-based software provides much higher security due to the way the data is stored. Breathe is hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and we pride ourselves on being ISO27001 certified.

Statistics

In February 2022, we asked over 300 customers how Breathe benefits them. Here’s what we found:

Breathe saves our customers an average of 4 hours per week
Breathe saves our customers an average of £177 per week
Breathe saves each customer an average of 11 sheets of paper per day (or almost a third of a tree per year)
Almost 70% of our customers respond to holiday requests within 1 hour, and 45% respond within just 15 minutes

Clear & simple pricing

We aim to keep our pricing crystal-clear and nonsense-free.

We charge by account size – not per employee, unlike other solutions on the HR software market.
Dedicated UK-based technical support is included in every plan.
You can pay monthly or annually (Paying annually will save Micro, Starter, Regular & Pro plans a handy 15% discount and Premium & Plus annual plans a 10% discount on Breathe’s Core HR software (excluding additional modules).

Additional modules

You can also choose from some value-packed additional modules to add to your plan, so you can tailor your account depending on what you need. Pricing starts from just £10 extra per month.

You can choose from:

Helping the planet

At Breathe, we’re dedicated to looking after the planet and giving back to our environment.

By switching to Breathe’s HR software, you’ll leave spreadsheets and filing cabinets behind and enjoy a completely paperless (and more eco-friendly) HR department.

You’ll benefit from a tidier and more organised office, and the planet will thank you, too: our average customer saves around a third of a tree every year just by switching to our software.

What our customers say about Breathe

‘Great system – amazing time-saving’

I am amazed how much time is saved now that we are using Breathe. We had very time-consuming annual leave forms and they have now been replaced with Breathe. It is so straightforward and easy to use. It has been very easy to implement.

Gemma DicksonG2 review

‘Excellent HR system specifically designed for SMEs’

Very easy to navigate and covers all essential elements that you would need from a HR database but at a price point that is highly competitive for SMEs, excellent support team who are more than willing to help.

Robert BDirector

‘Great HR system for SME’

Breathe has been a great addition to our business after going from Google Sheets to implementing the new system. It is really easy to use from all user levels and has an additional bonus of offering a learn module which is amazing for a company like ours where we are building up our training to employees.

Jess McCannG2 review

‘An Office Manager’s dream!’

I just like having everything HR related under one roof, especially the holiday tracker. I always hated having to use over complicated spreadsheets for this, now its so simple with Breathe – the staff have also said how user friendly the system is for booking holidays, so everyone is happy!

Victoria AClient & Business Support

‘Excellent and user friendly’

This software is so good, I have now introduced it to three companies! Leave and 1:1 requests are very helpful. Breathe allows you to see where employees are and how to get hold of them. It’s the best HR software I have ever used.

Helen OOffice Manager

‘Excellent HR software’

The software is very intuitive and it’s been a great asset to our business to streamline our HR function. I looked at various other competitors before deciding and ultimately Breathe won.

Natalie ColesG2 review

11 03 2024

Spring budget 2024: Chancellor encourages more people into work | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #bedfordshirebusiness, #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedemploymentlaw, #outsourcedhumanresources, #springbudget, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

A plan to make work pay, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said as he recommended his latest Budget statement to the House of Commons. He announced very little that had not already been trailed in advance but provided more details of the measures that had been widely discussed in this week’s newspapers and news programmes.

Childcare

The chancellor announced a guarantee on the rates that will be paid to childcare providers to deliver the Government’s offer for children over nine months old for the next two years.

Energy

With the increase in energy prices caused by the conflict in Ukraine expected to last longer, as will therefore the sector’s windfall profits, the chancellor confirmed that he will extend the UK’s windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies for another year until March 2029.

Great British Nuclear will begin the next phase of the Small Modular Reactor selection process, Mr Hunt said, with companies now having until June to submit their initial tender responses.

Household Support Fund

Funding aimed at supporting vulnerable households with the costs of basic goods and heating their homes through the cost-of-living crisis, will be extended for a further six months.

Investment

The Government will create a British ISA in the form of an extra £5000 tax-free allowance for the public to invest exclusively in UK businesses with all the tax advantages of other ISAs. “This will be on top of the existing ISA allowances and ensure that British savers can benefit from the growth of the most promising UK businesses,” Mr Hunt explained.

He also plans to force local authorities and defined contribution (DC) pension funds to disclose how much they have invested in UK shares.

Levelling up

AstraZeneca will invest £650 million in the UK and Mr Hunt also announced an additional £650 million investment in the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and a new vaccine manufacturing hub in Liverpool.

Having already allocated £188 million for projects in Sheffield, Blackpool and Liverpool, the chancellor announced that £242 million would be allocated to Barking Riverside and Canary Wharf. This investment will, he said, see nearly 8000 houses being built and it will also transform Canary Wharf into a hub for life sciences companies.

Referring to a “Northeast trailblazer devolution deal”, Mr Hunt said this will provide a package of support for the region potentially worth over £100 million. The West Midlands Combined Authority will be awarded a further £15 million for cultural, heritage and investment projects.

NHS

Promising to double the amount the NHS is investing in IT and AI, the chancellor said there must be more digital input and less time-wasting forms. And, pointing out that police officers currently waste eight hours a week on unnecessary admin, he suggested that this approach could be mirrored in education, the police, courts, and local government with, e.g. more investment in non-court resolutions in the justice system.

The Government will, Mr Hunt said, fund in full the £3.4 billion cost of the NHS “productivity plan” he was introducing this week.

Tax

National Insurance (NI): Double taxation of work (through NI and income tax) is unfair, the chancellor argued. It should be simpler and fairer so, from April 2024, there will be another 2p cut in NI taking it down to 8% and that, Mr Hunt argued, should see total hours worked increase by the equivalent of around 200,000 full-time workers. It will, he said, be worth around £450 a year for someone on an average salary.

VAT:

Having been frozen for seven years, the threshold for VAT registration will go up from £85,000 to £90,000.

Vaping: A vaping tax will be introduced from October 2024, accompanied by an increased tobacco tax to maintain the disincentive to smoking. The freeze on alcohol duty will be extended to February 2025 to protect local pubs.

Child benefit: Turning to child benefit, the chancellor agreed that the current system, whereby it is withdrawn once a parent goes over £50,000, was unfair because it meant that a single parent earning £51,000 would lose the benefit while a couple both earning £49,000 would not. He plans to consult on moving to a household-based system in April 2026 but more immediately, from April 2024, will increase the lower limit to £60,000 and the top of the taper at which it is withdrawn will go up to £80,000.

Non-doms:

With regard to the much-discussed question of taxing non-doms, Mr Hunt confirmed that he was planning to abolish the current system while ensuring that the UK remained competitive in line with other major economies. From April next year, new arrivals in the UK will not be required to pay any tax on foreign income for four years but, if they still live in the UK after that point, they will pay the same tax as other UK residents.

Air transport: Air passenger duty will be increased but only for business travellers, not economy flights.

Holiday lets:

Tax breaks which make it more profitable for second homeowners to let out their properties to holiday makers rather than to long-term tenants to rent will be abolished as will stamp duty relief for people buying more than one dwelling.

Property:

The 28% rate of property capital gains tax will be cut to 24% with the chancellor arguing that the lower tax rate will result in more transactions, leading to more tax revenue.

Full expensing:

Referring back to his announcement last year of full expensing, which he described as a £10 billion tax cut for businesses, Mr Hunt announced his intention to publish draft legislation for full expensing to apply to leased assets.

Performing arts:

Tax reliefs for the performing arts introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic are to be made permanent.

Fuel duty:

Finally, he said that the 5p cut in fuel duty due to end this month will be extended for a further year, meaning that it will stay at 53p per litre.

The chancellor’s speech gives highlights of the Budget with full details available in the 98-page “Red Book” and associated documents which can all be found on the GOV.UK website.

HRInform

Our HR Comment: Spring budget 2024: Chancellor encourages more people into work | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Comments: “Well, everyone will have their opinion on the recent Spring budget 2024 and how it affects you personally but from our point of view it is good to see the section in relation to childcare and the guarantee as this should hopefully help some parents back into work.”

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07 03 2024

Ayche v The Hop Box Ltd – Disability discrimination: Reasonable adjustment | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #bedfordshirebusiness, #consensus hr, #consensushr, #discrimination, #equalityact2010, #hertfordshirebusinesses, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Summary:

It is an employer’s duty to make a reasonable adjustment to alleviate a disadvantage placed on a disabled worker by a provision, criterion or practice because of their disability. An employer cannot rely on a worker’s own actions as sufficient to fulfil this duty.

Full details of the case can be found by Clicking Here

Note for employers

This case serves as a useful reminder that the obligation to make a reasonable adjustment is firmly on the employer, and it is not enough to simply rely on the employee to find an appropriate “workaround” to a PCP that puts them at a substantial disadvantage because of their disability.

In this case, had the respondent gone back to the claimant regarding the mask, and queried how the claimant was finding having to wear one, it would have become apparent that the mask was not being worn as intended and therefore a more suitable adjustment would have to have been found. By seemingly moving on from the matter without fully dealing with it, the respondent failed to discharge its duties under the EqA and must now wait to hear the outcome of this case, and if any compensation will be owed to the claimant.

LAW

Section 20(1), (2) and (3) of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) puts employers under a duty to make reasonable adjustments where a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) of the employer’s puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with persons who are not disabled. The employer must take whatever reasonable steps are necessary to alleviate this disadvantage.

When considering a claim of failure to make reasonable adjustments, an employment tribunal has to first identify whether there is a PCP in place, and if it determines that there is, whether or not the employer put in place reasonable adjustments to ensure this did not substantially disadvantage a disabled worker where a non-disabled worker would not be.

FACTS

The claimant was engaged for two days of work as a server by the respondent. As the timing of the facts of this case fell in October 2020, when measures were still in place in the UK as a result of the Covid pandemic, the risk assessment for the event said that masks should be worn. This risk assessment, however, gave no consideration for those who were unable to wear a mask because of a disability.

The claimant initially did not wear a mask, due to suffering from asthma and the effects of a previous brain tumour. He was seen not wearing a mask by the respondent. The respondent suggested that the claimant swap with another worker who was preparing food, but this idea was dismissed as the claimant did not have sufficient knowledge to complete the preparations needed. Instead, the claimant put on the mask.

From the point of being asked to wear the mask, the claimant did so. However, when the respondent was not around, he wore the mask under his nose and would only put it on properly when someone in authority was nearby.

The claimant brought a claim of failure to make a reasonable adjustment to accommodate his disabilities.

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL (ET)

The ET started by examining the facts of the case so as to identify if there was a PCP that put the claimant, because of his disability, at a disadvantage. It found that the requirement to wear a face mask when serving disadvantaged the claimant and that disadvantage was clearly attributable to his disability. A non-disabled person would not have an issue with wearing a mask in the same role.

The ET then had to consider if a reasonable adjustment was made to alleviate the disadvantage caused by the PCP. It held that the claimant’s decision to wear the mask but not to do so over his nose (except when he was concerned that persons of authority may be in the vicinity) alleviated the disadvantage caused to him entirely. The claimant’s complaint that he felt coerced by the respondent to wear a mask was rejected, on the basis that the claimant did not have to work the second day of the event but chose to.

In coming to the conclusion that the adjustment was reasonable, the ET noted that it is necessary to strike a balance between the reasonable needs of the disabled person for an adjustment on the one hand, and the reasonable needs of the employer on the other. In striking this balance, it had to consider if the steps to alleviate the disadvantage would be effective, the cost to the employer of them and the extent of the disruption that would be caused to the employer’s business in making the adjustment.

It was accepted by the ET that the claimant was exempt from wearing a mask, however it stated that “…[this] does not give him an untrammelled right to work at an event such as the Peddler Market without a face covering as the reasonable needs of the employer have to be taken into account”. Before it, the respondent had given what the ET felt to be “compelling evidence” that it was difficult enough to get the general public to wear a face covering, and that would only get worse if the claimant were to be permitted to not wear one whilst working in a public area, and that these difficulties could result in the respondent losing its licence to operate events.

Ultimately, the ET concluded that the respondent had made a reasonable adjustment for the claimant by permitting him to wear the covering below his nose other than when he saw a person in authority.

The claimant appealed against this on the basis that as the respondent was unaware of this adjustment, it did not meet its duty to make a reasonable adjustment.

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EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL (EAT)

In reviewing the case, the EAT determined that the ET had misunderstood the facts, and this led to it finding as it did. It is apparent from the judgment that the ET had concluded that the respondent was aware of the claimant’s self-imposed reasonable adjustment of only wearing the mask properly when the respondent or its representatives were around, when in fact both parties to this case agreed that the respondent did not have this knowledge.

The EAT held that the result of this fundamental misunderstanding was that the ET had not properly considered the true facts in the case. Therefore, it held that it should be remitted to the same ET to re-determine the reasonable adjustments claim, and whether or not a reasonable adjustment had been applied to alleviate the impact of the PCP.

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05 02 2024

Dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General @sg1businessclub, #bedfordshirebusiness, #consensus hr, #consensushr, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedemploymentlaw, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

One of the many things I have learnt since I have been fortunate to be in employment within a wide range of sectors and roles prior to moving permanently to HR is the importance of Dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s.

Many of our clients have very successful businesses who have had to adapt in some cases drastically since the Covid situation with drop in sales and bottom-line profit, team members working from home, high sickness levels and more than ever as the need to dot the I’s and cross the T’s been more apparent.

Employment Life Cycle:

Human Resources (HR) is made up of what we call within the business, the HR Employment Life Cycle (ELC) from the recruitment, development, reward and termination which affects all members of the team.

Assets:

We always say that your team within your company is one of your most important assets and need to be treated as such with the correct tools in place when recruiting the right candidate to ensure the relevant development, salary and benefits are provided whilst remembering the Rome was not built in a day!

Planning:

Now, probably more than ever time and planning are crucial if your business is going to be successful. Although many business owners know their products and services extremely well, when it comes to employing people, they fail to ensure that the correct Policies and Procedures are followed to ensure best practice and adherence to the law.

Experience:

Experience has shown us that many business owners are extremely reasonable and, in some circumstances, too reasonable but fail to keep a note of what action they have taken to demonstrate how reasonable they have been as an employer. As I have commented many times, HR is covered by Civil Law and the ‘Balance of Probabilities’ and the word reasonable is used continually. Business owners have to be able to demonstrate that the action they have taken is reasonable and should it come to an Employment Tribunal (ET) they would be the one answering the claimants Barristers / Solicitors questions whilst justifying why the action taken was what a ‘reasonable’ employer would do. You may ask ‘what would a reasonable employer do?’ This is where you come in and explain the actions you took and why you as an employer / manager believed they were ‘reasonable’. The ET Judge will then decide if they agree or not and if not why?

Why Dotting the ‘I’s’ and Crossing the ‘T’s”:

When I thought about the title of this blog, I wanted to emphasise that in the world of HR, it may seem to some business owners that we are all paperwork and policies and procedures, but it is vital that the correct, professional systems (ACAS) and documents are put in place from the start. One of our previous blogs titled ‘HR Foundations” highlights this. If business owners are spending time being a reasonable employer, then they need to ensure that they gain the benefits from it. We always suggest that managers / business owners keep draft bullet points on a team members strengths and development needs for use when needed such as in a performance review (Appraisal) as the bad points are generally remembered more than the good points and both are needed to ensure a successful review takes place. (General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) must be adhered to.) Success in this area can result in businesses receiving the benefits such as better employee retention and sales to name a few but it is vital that this is not kept as a secret or used in a negative way or it could result in the opposite of bad motivation, retention, sales and a breach of the GDPR and law.

Employers when having the opportunity to employ should ensure that their Policies and Procedures within the world of HR cover all areas of the Employment Life Cycle and are written in plain English, user friendly, properly implemented, followed and documented with the team, whilst ensuring they Dot the “I’s’ and Cross the ‘T’s’. Employers must ‘practice what they preach’ and ‘walk the talk’ as failure when dealing with any performance, conduct or capability issues to name a few, could result in a negative, rather than a positive outcome.

Too many times we see new employees dumped with a barrage of paperwork on their first day of employment and it is known from experience that a new employee will sign anything on their first day as they want to make a good impression and not ask questions that they believe will make them look silly. New members of the team should be welcomed to the business and given a tour of their new business environment whilst ensuring a briefing / induction session takes place on the companies Policies & Procedures, Health & Safety and where to find a copy if needed in the future. We use Breathe HR for our clients and ensure that all members of their teams have access to the business Policies & Procedures as and when needed through their portal whether this be on their mobile or computer.

To view more about our range of HR & Employment Law Services

At Consensus HR, we are proud to offer a wide range of HR & Employment Law services to help our clients dot their ‘Is’ and Cross their ‘T’s’

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At Consensus HR & Employment Law

If you run a company with a team and wish to grow and continue with what you know best, your product and not get tied down with HR, Employment Law and Payroll, give us a call now for a non-obligatory chat to see how we can help you work to best practice and the law. Consensus HR | Your Outsourced HR Dept – “Helping companies take the pain our of managing people whilst Preventing People Problems – 01438 576750

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22 01 2024

Employment Law Updates – 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General, Handbook, Investigations, Training & Development @sg1, #bedfordshirebusiness, #consensushr, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedemploymentlaw, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Employment law dates at a glance – 2024

What are the planned Employment Law changes for this year and beyond?

Employment Law Updates – 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Our Chartered Instituted of Personnel & Development (CIPD) have collated all the forthcoming Employment Law changes and Consensus HR by working with its monthly retained clients will be ensuring that all our clients Employee Handbooks and HR Policies & Procedures are kept up to date whilst providing HR & Employment Law support as required.

Did you know? Our monthly retained HR clients for a monthly fee never have to worry about the ever changing Employment Law as their employee handbooks are updated automatically and members of the team informed? If you are interested, give us a non-obligatory call now – 01438 576 750 and talk to a member of the team. Let us, help you to Prevent People Problems.

To view more on Employment Law

To read more about Employment Law and how to ensure you are working to best practice and the law and how Consensus HR can help you:

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Forthcoming changes

This table shows forthcoming changes. See the forthcoming legislation in-depth page and relevant employment law topic for more information on these new statutes and amendments.

Employment Law Updates - 2024 | Consensus HR - Herts, Beds

31 January 2024 (at the earliest)

If approved by parliament, the draft Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2023 (the IHS Order 2023) will increase the immigration health surcharge in 2024. This will come into force 21 days after being confirmed by parliament.

31 March 2024

All leave carried over due to it being unreasonable to take it due to covid must be taken by this date.

1 April 2024

The National Living Wage age band will be expanded to include workers aged 21 and over. The National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates will rise as follows. • The National Living Wage (for people aged 21 or older) will increase from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour. • The National Minimum Wage for workers aged 18–20 will increase from £7.49 to £8.60 per hour. • The young workers rate for workers aged 16–17 will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour. The apprentice rate for apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in the first year of the apprenticeship, will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 per hour.

1 April 2024

Changes to holiday rules For holiday years beginning on or after this date, holiday entitlement for part year and irregular hours workers can be calculated by taking 12.07% of the hours worked in the pay period. Rolled up holiday will also be permissible from this date for part year and irregular hours workers only.

6 April 2024

The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations (SI 2023/1328) come into force and remove the requirement for employees to have at least 26 weeks’ service to be entitled to make a flexible working request.

6 April 2024

Subject to parliamentary approval, the draft Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 will introduce a new statutory right to unpaid carer’s leave for employees in England, Wales and Scotland.

6 April 2024

Subject to final parliamentary approval, the draft Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will make significant changes to paternity leave, allowing it to be taken in the first 52 weeks after birth or adoption, and in two separate weeks. This will apply in relation to children whose expected week of childbirth is after 6 April 2024, and children whose expected date of placement for adoption, or expected date of entry into Great Britain for adoption, is on or after that date.

6 April 2024

Subject to parliamentary approval, the Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will extend redundancy protection during pregnancy and for the period of 18 months after the birth or placement of a child for those taking maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.

April 2024

Proposed new rate for statutory leave and pay, including statutory shared parental, maternity, adoption, paternity and parental bereavement pay is proposed to rise to £184.03.

April 2024

Proposed new rate for statutory sick pay from April 2024 is £116.75.

1 July 2024

The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 bring in new rules permitting employers to consult directly with staff affected by TUPE, rather than electing representatives, will apply to businesses with 50 or fewer employees or transfers involving 10 or less employees. Government outlines changes to holiday pay and EU retained law

Further anticipated Employment Law changes..... What further Employment Law changes can be expected in 2024 and beyond?

September 2024 (expected)	The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 and secondary regulations are expected to come into force approximately one year after Royal Assent, which was given on 8 September 2023. The Act will give eligible workers and agency workers the right to request more predictable terms and conditions of work.
October 2024 (expected)	The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act and relevant secondary legislation is expected to come into force, introducing a new proactive duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Employers will be required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. Tribunals will also have the power to uplift sexual harassment compensation by up to 25% where an employer is found to have breached this new duty.
To be confirmed	Legislation will be introduced to make significant changes to paternity leave, allowing employees to take it within the first year after the birth of the baby, divide the leave into two blocks, and give 4 weeks’ notice of the dates on which leave is to be taken. Major changes planned for paternity leave
To be confirmed	A new statutory code on “fire and re-hire” to be introduced. Dismissal and re-engagement (fire and re-hire) toolkit
To be confirmed	New law prohibiting confidentiality clauses in contracts or settlement agreements from preventing disclosures to the police, regulated health and care or legal professionals to be introduced. Settlements and settlement agreements
To be confirmed	New law requiring confidentiality clauses to set out their limitations to be introduced. New confidentiality clause legislation confirmed
To be confirmed	New law to increase the break needed to end continuous employment from one week to four weeks to be introduced. Continuity of service
To be confirmed	Regulatory exemptions from requirements such as gender pay gap reporting will be extended to businesses with fewer than 500 employees; currently this applies to businesses with under 250 employees. Government promises to free growing businesses from red tape
To be confirmed	GDPR will be replaced with a ‘common sense’ data protection system. Further details of the proposed new scheme is yet to be released. Data protection
To be confirmed	A new law proposed by the government will limit the length of non-compete clauses to a maximum of three months. C hanges to EU derived law and non-compete clauses announced

HRInform – Jan-24

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03 01 2024

Round-up of all the legal changes in January 2024 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General @sg1, #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #legalchanges, #networkinbeds, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

2024 is set to be a busy year will plenty of legislative changes taking effect at various points throughout the year, with changes still being announced .

The Government has just announced that it is backtracking on the proposed increase from Spring 2024 to the salary required for family visas, and that the proposed increase to £38,700 will not now take place. Instead, they plan to initially set it at £29,000.

As the New Year fast approaches here is a reminder of what is happening in January 2024:

From 1st January 2024:

Covid holiday carry-over ends –

The emergency rules on annual leave which were implemented in 2020 meant that workers could carry over 4 weeks of leave into the next 2 leave years where it was not reasonably practicable for them to take it because of the effects of Covid. From 1 January 2024, this will be removed, but for any employees who have any “Covid carry over leave” accrued by that date but have not taken it, have until 31 March 2024 to use it.

Remaining rules on holiday carry-over continue –

Nothing actually changing here but as these rights derive from ECJ case law it has had to be added to our legislation to ensure that the status quo is maintained. There will continue, therefore, to be a right of carry-over in the following situations:
- Where a worker was unable to take holiday due to being on maternity leave or other family-friendly leave – can carry over 5.6 weeks to the following leave year.
- Where a worker was unable to take holiday due to sickness – can carry over 4 weeks of leave for 18 months after the end of the leave year in which the leave was accrued.

Legislation will be updated from 1st January 2024 –

To state that for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024 employers can lawfully pro-rata holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers, and if they want to do so, can again use rolled-up holiday pay, but only for these types of workers. Remember that whilst the law will be updated in January, employers cannot actually make any changes until their next leave year starting on or after 1 April 2024.

From 16th January 2024, subject to parliamentary approval, the Immigration Health Surcharge is set to increase from £624 to £1,035.

Finally, from 22nd January 2024, if approved by parliament, the civil penalty when an employer is found to have employed foreign workers unlawfully, will increase:

To £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach.
To £60,000 for repeated breaches.

HR Inform – 22^nd December 2023

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Our HR advice / comments: Round-up of all the legal changes in January 2024 | Consensus Hr – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, BA (Hons), Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is another great article from our Chartered Institute through the HR inform service which highlights a number of changes in January 2024. Consensus HR previously wrote a blog that detailed planned and proposed Employment Law changes which are due to take place in 2024 and can be read in our blog section on our website and by Clicking Here. Consensus HR help companies have an outsourced HR dept at a fraction of the costs of having one in house and ensures their clients have access to a professional, best practice and legally compliant service.”

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At Consensus HR, we are fully qualified Employment Law Specialists with our Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development -CIPD and The Univerisity of Surrey and Barr Regulations Authority.

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If you run a successful company but are unsure of what legal law and best practice is required for your team, give us a call now for a non-obligatory chat about Outsourced HR and what we can provide you and your team for future success of your business. Consensus HR | Helping companies outsource and manage their HR and Employment Law and Prevent People Problems – 01438 576750

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