Very significant changes are being made to Employment Law, affecting every Employer and Employee. These changes, probably the widest ranging in 40 years, are still going through Parliament.
The Employment Rights Bill will make many important changes to employees’ rights, and in particular when those rights kick-in, which the government intends will be from the first day of employment, rather than after (in most cases) 2 years of employment with the same employer.
The government is also intending to redraw what a “probationary period” means and how it will work with the other new law. It is working on a whole legal procedure to be gone through by Employers who want to be able to dismiss an employee during the probationary period, without now facing an “automatically” unfair dismissal claim.
Apart from changes that are intended to come in when the current Employment Rights Bill becomes law – probably at the end of 2025, or early 2026, some important changes are already in place.
Such as, the new obligation on Employers to prevent others – including not only other employees, but also suppliers, and customers, from “harassing” a business’s employees.
Liability has been placed squarely on Employers, and it is essential as part of any defence to a claim to harassment to have appropriate policies in place, as well as being seen to undertake training in the subject at least twice a year.
All of these changes in Employment Law need to be understood by Employers, and HR practices need to adapt to a new employment law environment.
D J Murphy Solicitors are able to assist and advise Employers as the new law emerges.