Taking to the stage and waiting in the wings – Summer and Autumn Employment Law Changes

We all know that major changes are afoot for employment law in the next few months. The government has promised to produce a draft Employment Rights Bill by the end of October. But there are other, less dramatic, changes quietly taking to the stage over summer and into the autumn that must not be overlooked. Here’s our round-up of some changes that have recently come into force and a few that are waiting in the wings:

Summer and Autumn Employment Law Changes

4. Fire and re-hire code of practice: This came into force on 18^th July 2024. There is no stand-alone claim for breach of its provisions. However, the Code must be taken into account by employment tribunals in relevant cases, including unfair dismissal. The Code gives tribunals the ability to uplift compensation by up to 25% if an employer unreasonably fails to follow it. The uplift does not apply to protective awards for failure to inform and consult in collective redundancy situations.
5. TUPE changes: Regulation 13A Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 has been amended. For TUPE transfers taking place from 1^st July 2024 the micro-business exemption from the requirement to consult with employee representatives in TUPE transfer situations has been extended. The employer may now consult directly with employees where either:
   1. 1. the employer employs fewer than 50 employees; or
      2. for employers of any size, the transfer involves fewer than 10 employees.
6. Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023: The Act, which sets out a mechanism through which workers and agency workers can request more predictable terms, received Royal Assent last year. It is expected that the Act (and its accompanying Code of Practice) will be brought into force in Autumn 2024. However, neither the finalised code of practice nor any enabling regulations have yet been published.
7. Tips Act: The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and its accompanying statutory Code of Practice come into effect on 1^st October 2024. Under the Tips Act employers are required to pass on tips in full to workers; tips must be allocated in a fair and transparent way; records of tips must be kept for three years; employers of businesses where tips are left more than occasionally are required to have a tipping policy in place; and tips must be distributed within one month following the month in which they were received.
8. Positive duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace: The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) 2023 comes into force on 26^th October 2024. Under the Act, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. If they fail to do so then employment tribunals can increase compensation in sexual harassment cases by up to 25%.