Employers need to be aware of several areas where legislation is currently at various stages of development, which will become law over the next two years.

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act

This will come into force on 24 July 2023.

The Act applies to employees who are in a potential redundancy situation, giving them a right to be offered suitable alternative employment before being made redundant. It currently applies to employees on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave.

The Act extends this priority status to employees who are pregnant or who have recently returned from maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave. It will also include any employee who has recently suffered a miscarriage. It is not yet clear how, precisely, the entitlement will work, and further regulations are expected to come into force but probably not until April 2024.

Whilst there is nothing new for employers to action at the moment, it would be advisable for them to consider the implications of the new protections and the issues that may arise.

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act

This has now passed through both Houses of Parliament and is awaiting Royal Assent.

Essentially, the key changes will be:

• employees will be able to make two flexible working requests within a year
• employers will be required to deal with requests within two months of a request being made
• employers must consult with the employee if they are turning down a request
• when making a request, employees no longer have to give an explanation of what the impact of the new working arrangement will have.

Surprisingly, the Act does not make flexible working a Day One right – apparently, this legislation is still in the pipeline. Employees still need to have 26 weeks’ service before they can make a flexible working request.

The employer has no legal obligation to offer a right of appeal if the flexible working request is refused. However, it is still considered best practice, and the ACAS Code of Practice on Flexible Working supports this.

The Carer’s Leave Act

Statistics show that around 600 people per day leave the workforce because they cannot balance work with their unpaid caring responsibilities.

This Act, which has received Royal Assent (but probably will not become law until April 2024), will introduce an entitlement of one week’s unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care. This means employees will no longer have to rely on other types of unpaid leave to accommodate their carer responsibilities.

In summary, the Act will:

• be a Day One entitlement
• be available to employees only
• entitle leave to be taken in one ‘block’ of five days or individually to suit requirements.

Employers should also note that employees will not be required to provide any evidence of how or for whom the leave is being used, and employees must not suffer any detriment as the result of taking carer’s leave. Employees will, however, be required to ‘self-certify’ their carer’s leave, and the person being cared for must have a long-term care need.

It would be advisable for employers to start thinking now about what arrangements they might need to put in place, eg, policies. One week of leave is the statutory minimum, but employers are encouraged to think about how they could enhance this to increase retention and attract potential employees with carer responsibilities.

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act

This comes into force in April 2025 and allows eligible employed parents with a newborn in neonatal care to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave in addition to their maternity or paternity leave.

Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill

This contains some of the most significant changes to workplace discrimination law in the UK since the 2010 Equality Act.

In summary, the Bill:

• puts a new onus on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace
• re-introduces protection against harassment of employees by third parties, e.g., clients, customers and employer liability for any such harassment
• provides for an uplift in compensation of up to 25% where an employer has failed to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of its employees during work.

In light of this Bill, employers may want to review their current Bullying and Harassment policies and think about ways to be proactive in preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, e.g., training for all employees.

Contact our employment law solicitors today

If you have any questions regarding any of the issues raised in this article, please do not hesitate to contact our specialist Employment Law team by using our online enquiry form or by calling 0330 191 5713.