Changes to Employment Law April 2020

New legislation making major changes to existing employment regulations comes into force from Monday 6 April 2020.

Employers and employees can find the updated advice here on Acas’s website. The most significant changes are:

Parental bereavement leave and pay

The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act 2018 gives all employed parents the right to 2 weeks’ paid leave if their child aged under 18 dies, or if they have a stillbirth at 24 weeks or later.

Written terms (‘written statement of employment particulars’)

Workers now have the same right as employees to written terms (a ‘written statement of employment particulars’) from their employer.

Employers must provide their workers and employees with their written statement on or before their first day of employment, no matter how long they’re employed for.

The written statement must include details about:

• the hours and days of the week the worker or employee is required to work, and whether they may be varied and how
• entitlements to any paid leave
• any other benefits not covered elsewhere in the written statement
• any probationary period
• any training provided by the employer

Agency workers’ rights

The Swedish Derogation (referred to as ‘pay between assignments’ contracts) is abolished from 6 April 2020, so all agency workers are entitled to the same rate of pay as their permanent counterparts after 12 weeks.

All agency workers are entitled to a key information document that clearly sets out the type of contract they will have and the pay they’ll receive.

ICE (Information and Consultation of Employees) Regulations

From 6 April 2020, it’s been made easier to request an information and consultation agreement. A minimum of 2%, rather than 10% of employees (or at least 15 people), in workplaces with 50 employees or more can request a formal agreement to be informed and consulted about workplace matters.

Changes to holiday pay calculations

From 6 April 2020, the period used to calculate a week’s pay for holiday pay purposes increases from the previous 12 weeks of work to the previous 52 weeks.