Upcoming Changes
Below is a list of upcoming employment law changes. In addition to the below, there will be changes as a result of case law. Below you will find highlights of employment law changes from the previous year.
Date 2023 Planned and expected Changes |
Description |
EXPECTED No Date Confirmed |
|
Date 2022 High Lights |
Description |
6th April 2022 |
Right to Work Checks - New digital right to work checks, using ‘identification document validation technology’ (IDVT), became available for employees with valid British or Irish passports from 6th April 2022. Employers can use a ‘identity service provider’ (IDSP) to carry out this check, although they remain responsible for checking the identity of the employee and retaining the record for the duration of employment plus two years. |
6th April 2022 |
Fit Note Digitalisation - There is no longer a requirement for GPs and other doctors to sign a fit note personally as evidence of an employee’s sickness absence. New regulations allows fit notes to be issued digitally. Both the old and new versions will be legally valid while the new version is being rolled out. |
1st July 2022 |
Fit Note Certification Rule Change - From 1st July nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists working in GP practices or in hospitals will be able to issue and sign fit notes. |
12th July 2022 |
Ban On Exclusivity Clauses Regulations - Draft regulations to include those earning below the lower earnings limit (currently set at £123 a week) in the ban on exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts have now been put before Parliament. They will come into force 28 days after they have approved. |
15th July 2022 |
Tipping Bill Receives Government Backing - A private members bill that will make it unlawful for employers to withhold tips from staff has received government backing. A new statutory Code of Practice on how tips should be distributed will also be developed, and workers will gain a new right to request information on an employer’s tipping record. |
15th July 2022 |
Neonatal Bill Receives Government Backing - The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill received government backing. It will allow parents whose babies need hospital neonatal care to take 12 weeks’ paid leave in addition to their statutory maternity or paternity leave. |
5th September 2022 |
Data Protection Bill Stalled - The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill was stalled in Parliament to allow ministers in Prime Minister Liz Truss’ new administration to ‘consider the legislation further’. The bill is intended to make the UK’s current GDPR regime less of a burden on business, while retaining a ‘global gold standard’ for data protection. |
22nd September 2022 |
Bill To Remove EU Law - The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022-23 paves the way for a post-Brexit reform of UK law. The government announcement says the legislation will allow it to ‘amend more easily, repeal and replace’ law derived from the EU which has been kept as part of the Brexit arrangements. The Bill comes into effect at the end of 2023 and has a transition period up to mid-2026. After this time, regulations derived from EU law including the: Working Time Regulations, Agency Workers Regulations, Fixed Term Employees Regulations, Part Time Worker Regulations and the TUPE Regulations will be removed from UK law unless they are written into new legislation. |
1st October 2022 |
Right To Work Checks - During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government introduced digital ways for employers to check employee’s right to work in the UK because of the difficulties associated with manually checking documents. These arrangements end on 30 September. |
3rd October 2022 |
Future Reporting Thresholds - The small business threshold for any future reporting regulations doubled from 250 employees to 500 employees. |
17th October 2022 |
IR35 Responsibility Remains With Employers - Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget on 23 September 2022 contained the announcement that employers would stop being responsible for deciding whether the IR35 tax rules apply to contractors working for them through personal service companies. On 17 October, the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the proposed change would not take place. |
21st October 2022 |
Carer’s Leave And Pregnancy/Maternity Redundancy Protection Bills - This private member’s bill, which has government backing, has now started its progress through Parliament and will be a day one right for employees. The Carer’s Leave Bill gives carers one week’s unpaid leave a year to care for a dependant with a long-term care need, that is:
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill is also a private member’s bill which has received government backing. Employees on maternity leave currently must be given priority for suitable alternative employment in a redundancy situation. This bill will start that protection from when an expectant mother, or those adopting a child or taking shared parental leave, notifies their employer of their pregnancy, match for adoption, intention to take shared parental leave and extends for 18 months from the start of that leave. |
6th November 2022 |
Repeal Of Health And Social Care Levy - The 1.25% NI contribution increase brought in on 6th April 2022 will be reversed. |