Keeping Up with Employment Law Changes: What Your Business Needs to Know this Month
Our latest Employment Law Update is here. Staying updated on new employment laws is crucial for employers to ensure compliance and foster a healthy working environment.
Legislation surrounding employment is constantly evolving to adapt to societal changes, technological advancements, and emerging workforce trends. Ignoring these changes can result in legal repercussions, including fines and lawsuits, which tarnish a company's reputation and financial stability. We know that business owners are time poor. That’s why we’re committed to bringing you the most up-to-date employment law changes in bite-size form.
"WorkWell” Pilots to be Introduced as Part of the Government’s “Back to Work” Plan
There are up to 1.1 million people with long-term health conditions, disabilities, and long-term unemployment. Consequently, on 7 May 2024 the Government Departments for Work and Pensions and Health & Social Care announced the launch of the pilot of the “WorkWell” service. This forms part of its Back to Work plan.
The WorkWell service is aimed at helping people manage their health condition or disability and identify workplace adjustments that would help them stay in work or return sooner. The pilot will begin in October 2024 in 15 areas of England. The pilot service will be voluntary and open to anyone with a health condition or disability. Following an assessment by a Work and Health Coach, the individual will be connected with local support services including physiotherapy, employment advice and counselling.
How will the WorkWell Pilots Affect My Business?
In theory, the WorkWell scheme should offer support and guidance to any employees you may have who are off work due to long-term sickness which will be a benefit to any business.
Since the scheme is voluntary, it will ensure that the employees who return to work feel that they are physically and mentally well enough to do so. If you find that you have members of staff returning to your business through the WellWork scheme, you will be required to make any adjustments that will allow them to do their job. Some illnesses can be caused by working environments, so it would be prudent to conduct a comprehensive return-to-work interview. This should include questions about whether the employee was satisfied with their work environment before they were signed off work to avoid similar situations arising in the future.
EHRC Consultation on Sexual Harassment Guidance
We have previously highlighted the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (“the Act”) which is set to come into effect in October this year. The Act creates a mandatory obligation on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has now confirmed that it intends to update its technical guidance regarding the changes that will be introduced by the Act in respect of an employer’s duty. It is understood that the EHRC will open a consultation over the summer in connection with planned changes to its technical guidance. These changes will then be published in advance of the Act coming into effect.
Is there Anything I Need to Do in My Business to Comply?
In our previous employment law update, we suggested several ways to protect your business from sexual harassment claims. You can read that information here.
In addition, if you don’t already have a reporting register for complaints in your workplace, now is the time to create one. This register is for all forms of complaint, not just sexual harassment. It will give you an opportunity to assess staff satisfaction, as well as detect any trends within your staff force. Being able to identify patterns of behaviour can help you to break cycles of harassment before they become a problem.
Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023
The Government has postponed enforcing the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023. This will now come into force on 1 October 2024 rather than 1 July 2024, which was the originally proposed date.
Under this new legislation, employers are required to pass on all tips to workers at their place of work. Where tips are left frequently, businesses will be required to have a tipping policy in place. The Department for Business and Trade has published a Code of Practice for distributing tips fairly.
What Do I need to Do to Prepare for this New Legislation Around Tipping?
If you work in the hospitality business, this law could affect you in several ways.
1. Fair Allocation of Tips
Employers must ensure that the full amount of tips and service charges is fairly allocated and distributed to employees at that place of business. You have until the end of the following month in which tips are accrued to pay this money to your staff. For example, if the tips were received on the 14 May, you must arrange to distribute these funds by 30 June.
If you are unsure as to what “fair allocation” means, it’s worth having a conversation with one of our employment law solicitors before the Act comes into play. It’s important to ensure that you are compliant to avoid charges.
2. Written Tips Policy
Before the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 comes into force, employers must have a written policy on how tips are handled. This should document how your company deals with tips, including how they’re allocated between workers. You should also include any additional information, such as whether the business requires or encourages customers to pay tips.
3. Record Keeping and Data Access
Employers need to create a record of how tips are paid. The record needs to be maintained for three years from the date that the tips were paid. Workers will have the right to make a written request for information about how tips are being handled and distributed. As an employer, you must respond to this type of request within four weeks.
Should the authorities find your business non-compliant, a tribunal may order that compensation up to £5000 be paid. You may also need to make a payment totalling any unpaid tips to complainants, as well as other workers who did not bring proceedings.
Still Have Questions About How These Employment Laws Affects Your Business?
If you need employment law advice regarding any of the issues highlighted above or otherwise, please get in touch with our Employment Team at Winston Solicitors who can assist you. We can also review your existing policies and draft new robust policies to reduce the risk of claims against the business.
In particular, we can provide support and advice to your business:
- should any of your employees be on long term sickness absence and/or suffer from a health condition which meets the statutory definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 such that they require reasonable adjustments; and
- if you need guidance regarding reasonable steps for an employer to take to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Please call our Employment Law specialists on 0113 320 5000 or email @email for advice on ensuring that your business policies meet the new employment law changes.
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