The Government has reformed employment legislation and it is important that as an employer, you are aware of these changes so you can implement them into your practices and update your documentation.
From 6 April 2020 the following changes will come into force:
Section 1 Statement
- All new employees and workers will be entitled to a written statement of terms containing key terms (Section 1 statement) on their first day of employment. At the moment employers have to provide this statement to employees within two months of starting work. This commonly takes the form of an employment contract.
- The Section 1 statement will need to include additional terms such as:
– The days of the week the worker is required to work, whether the working hours may be variable and how any variation will be determined
– Any paid leave to which the worker is entitled (e.g. maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave, etc.)
– Details of all remuneration and benefits
– Details of any probationary period
– Details of any training entitlement provided including whether any training is mandatory and/or must be paid for by the worker. - Existing employees whose employment started between 30 November 1993 and 6 April 2020 will have a right to request a new Section 1 statement and employers will have to provide it within one month.
Holiday pay reference period will increase to 52 weeks
The reference period for calculating an average week’s pay for the purposes of calculating holiday pay will increase from 12 weeks to 52 weeks.
This will take into account seasonal variations in pay for workers. Employers will need to look back at the previous 52 weeks where a worker has worked and received pay (ignoring the weeks they did not receive pay) to calculate the average weekly pay. Where a worker has been employed for less than 52 weeks, the reference period is the number of weeks the worker has been employed.
The Swedish Derogation will be abolished
The “Swedish Derogation” is where there is an exemption from the right for agency workers to receive equal treatment with regard to pay where the agency provides the agency workers with permanent contracts providing for pay between assignments when they are not working for the hirer.
The Swedish Derogation will be revoked on 6 April 2020. Agencies will be required to inform workers by 30 April 2020 that the Swedish Derogation in their original contract no longer has effect and of their rights relating to pay that will now apply under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010.
All agency work seekers will be entitled to a key information document
The key information document will need to contain prescribed information including the type of contract, minimum expected rate of pay, how they will be paid, who will pay them, any deductions or fees that will be taken, details of any non-cash benefits, any entitlement to holiday and holiday pay and an example of what all this might mean for their take-home pay.
With a number of changes coming in on 6 April 2020, please contact a member of our Employment Law & HR team to discuss how your business can prepare for the changes. You can call them on 0115 9 100 200 or click here to send an email.
Posted on March 11, 2020