Following its consultations on these issues, the Government has published a draft statutory instrument containing amendments to the law (the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023).
The changes, which are likely to come into force on 1 January 2024 include;
Holiday pay:
- Holiday pay calculations for irregular hours and part-year employees will be simplified by allowing employers to 1. calculate holiday (pay) entitlement as 12.07 per cent of the hours worked in a pay period and 2. pay workers a sum in addition to their normal hourly rate of pay to represent their holiday pay entitlement (rolled-up holiday pay).
Although the regulations are due to come into force on 1 January 2024, they will only change holiday entitlement for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024.
- EU case law will be retained (post Brexit) to allow carry over of:
- All statutory annual leave to the following year when a worker is unable to take their leave due to being on family related leave (e.g. maternity or adoption leave);
- Four weeks annual leave per year (the statutory entitlement) for a maximum of 18 months where a worker is unable to take their leave due to sickness; and
- Four weeks annual leave per year (the statutory entitlement) where the worker has not been given opportunity to take the leave or the employer has failed to inform them that any leave not taken and which cannot be carried over will be lost.
- Define ‘normal remuneration’ for the purposes of statutory holiday pay as including commission payments and other payments, such as regular overtime payments.
TUPE:
- Employers can consult with employees directly (if there are no existing representatives in place) if they:
- Have less than 50 employees; or
- The particular transfer in question involves less than 10 employees.
Working Time:
- The requirement to keep detailed records of working hours and rest breaks for all staff has been removed, provided that ‘the employer is able to demonstrate compliance [with the Working Time Regulations] without doing so’.
