Following Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices which concluded in July 2017, and the various consultations the government has gone through, the Good Work Plan will affect all businesses who employ staff, engage workers (either directly or through an agency), or use sub-contractors.
The main changes are to the following areas:
Contracts
Contracts of employment will need to be given one the first day of employment. The terms within the contracts themselves will also change as additional information needs to be included.
For those companies that have a mix of employees, workers and contractors, it is essential to recognise that these contractual agreements are all very different and that the wording of them needs to be specific and correct. For example, there can be unexpected financial implications if a worker is given employee status,
We support employers by providing legally complaint contracts (employee, worker and sub-contractor) and handbooks that are tailored specifically to meet the needs and demands of the company.
During the month of March, we are offering employers a free review of existing contracts to see if they already meet the new requirements.
Agency Worker Rules
Provided certain conditions are met, agency workers will be entitled to equal pay. Before the end of April, all agency workers who have a ‘Swedish derogation’ provision in their contract will need written notification that it no longer has any effect.
Also, those who are seeking agency work will need to be provided with a key facts statement which will need to set out the terms hey will be working under.
Holiday Pay
The law has been continually evolving as to how much someone needs to be paid when they take a holiday. Sometimes it isn’t enough to just pay the basic salary, and an average needed to be taken over a pay reference period of the preceding 12 weeks.
This is changing so that the ‘pay reference period changes from 12 weeks to the preceding 52 weeks.
If holiday pay isn’t paid correctly, an employee could recover the underpayment, potentially going back a couple of years.
Parental Bereavement Leave
It is expected that parents who lose a child aged under 18, or who experience stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, will be able to take up to two weeks leave. The leave can be taken at once or in blocks of two separate one-week blocks.
Parents who had been continually employed for a minimum of 26 weeks will be entitled to parental bereavement pay. For those who haven’t, the leave will be unpaid.
Posted on: 04/Mar/2020 Posted in: General