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Legal experts are warning businesses to prepare for big changes in UK employment law that are set to come into force in the near future.

In December last year, an extensive review of modern employment practices across the country took place prompting the government to publish details of its ‘Good Work Plan’ - a dossier that sets out specific proposals to reform employment law in various areas.

The main aim of the proposal is to ‘ensure workers can access fair and decent work, that both employers and workers have the clarity they need to understand their employment relationships, and that the enforcement system is fair and fit for purpose.’

Legislative amendments can sometimes catch the public and - in this case - businesses off guard and one consulting firm in Maidstone says it’s better for companies to act now than get caught out by the spate of changes on the way.

“The ever changing legal landscape can be a minefield for businesses and whilst the Good Work Plan is somewhat currently under the radar, being prepared to comply with the forth-coming changes is essential,” said Darren Stevens, who is Head of Employment at Outset UK.

Whilst most of these particular proposals are not expected to be implemented until 2020, Outset UK are offering a fixed price service called Primed, designed to guide companies through the full gamut of employment law challenges.

Primed offers unlimited access to expert HR advisors and lawyers, answering any employee relations concerns and ensuring that all policies and templates are up to date.

“Primed is a great way for businesses to get peace of mind,” continued Darren.

“As it’s a fixed fee, businesses don’t need to worry about the clock running, and will benefit from commercially risk-managed advice as and when they need it.

“The legal costs for defending a tribunal claim are also covered, again giving businesses even greater security, especially at a time when tribunal claims are on the rise.”

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUTSET UK AND ITS PRIMED SERVICE

Here are some of the key changes proposed by the Good Work Plan:

Contractual Changes

• Statement of Terms and Conditions

Currently employers have TWO months to provide a Statement of Terms and conditions to employees, but from April 2020 this will be a ‘day one’ right;

Employers will also have an obligation not only to provide a Statement of Terms and Conditions to employees, but also to workers – something which they have not had to do before;

Additional details will have to be provided in the Statement of Terms and Conditions, such as details of any probationary period, benefit entitlement and details of any paid leave.

• Key Facts for Agency Workers

Business’ who engage Agency Workers will have to provide them with a ‘Key Facts Page’; a document which needs to include details such as the type of contract they are employed under, details of any fees that might be taken and the minimum rate of pay they will receive.

• Right to request a more stable contract

After 26 weeks of employment, an employee will have the right to request a more predictable and stable contract.

An employer will have THREE months to consider and respond to any such request; in the main this will benefit casual or zero-hour employees, who might seek to request a guaranteed number of hours per week or to have stability over the days of the week that they are asked to work.

Operational Changes

• Continuous Service

As things stand, a gap of one week can break an employee’s continuity of service. For employers who regularly engage the same individuals on a sporadic or casual basis, this protects against the build-up of any significant length of service; under the Good Work Plan, this gap will be extended to four weeks.

• Tips and Gratuities

New legislative guidance will require all tips and gratuities to be passed directly to an individual, rather than being given to the employer to be split out amongst staff (or to be kept by the employer as sometimes happens).

• Holiday Pay

The reference period used to calculate holiday pay (i.e. for those who work variable hours) is currently 12 weeks, but this will be extended to 52 weeks.

Enforcement Changes

• Harsher Penalties

Employment Tribunals will be given the power to impose harsher penalties on employers who don’t abide by the rules;

The previous penalty for an ‘aggravated breach of employment law’ was a maximum of £5,000, but this has now been increased to £20,000;

For repeat offenders, further sanctions will be introduced in cases where they lose a second Tribunal case ‘on similar grounds’ to a previous claim. Judges will be required to consider in all cases such as this whether a penalty should be imposed;

• Naming and Shaming

If an employer fails to pay compensation awarded by a Tribunal, they will in future the prospect of being publicly named and shamed. This is in addition to the presently available sanction of receiving a penalty notice to pay another fine of up to 50% of the originally unpaid award.

Outset UK provide an integrated blend of legal, consulting and safety solutions to meet the needs of modern businesses.

For more information about Outset UK and Primed, visit their official website by clicking here.