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UK Government Announces Changes to Employment Laws – Smarter regulation to grow the economy.

by | May 12, 2023 | HR Resources

Employment Law Changes 2023

Smarter regulation to grow the economy – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Government has this week announced its plans to make changes to some parts of employment legislation that will hopefully assist in its overall vision to grow the economy whilst ensuring that the legislation is fit for purpose.

Fundamentally, despite rumours that this may be the case, it has been confirmed that the Government will not be scrapping all EU-derived legislation. Rather it will be introducing a new regulatory framework in the summer that “provides us with the right system to ensure the future regulation of our changing economy is streamlined, recognises dynamic factors not just immediate compliance costs, and puts smart, forward-looking regulation at the heart of government decisions.”  Sounds good in principle. 

Key proposals to be aware of:

  • The Government will amend the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill to remove the so-called “sunset clause” that would have repealed most EU-derived legislation in the UK by the end of 2023 unless the government took active steps to retain it.
  • Under the Working Time Regs; 
    • Removing retained EU case law that impose requirements on businesses for working hour records to be kept for almost all members of the workforce. 
    • Allowing rolled-up holiday pay. 
    • Merging the two current leave entitlements (statutory of 4 weeks and UK additional leave of 1.6 weeks) to have one statutory pot.
  • Under the Transfer of Undertaking (protected employment) (TUPE) Regs;
    • Currently there is no requirement for businesses to hold TUPE consultations where they employ fewer than 10 employees. The intention is to remove the requirement for businesses with fewer than 50 employees and transfers affecting less than 10, to consult with employee representatives.
  • Non-compete clauses; 
    • Proposal to limit the length of non-compete clauses for exiting employees to 3-months.

We will keep you informed of any future updates, but if you wish to discuss any of the above topics, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Spire HR Team on 01925 626253.

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