Policies and Procedures which changed on 6 April 2024
Stephanie Pote · Posted on: March 19th 2025 · read
There were significant changes to Flexible Working, Carers Leave, Holiday calculations for variable hours workers (noted above), Protection from Redundancy and changes to consultation requirements for TUPE and redundancies. More detailed information regarding these changes can be found in our February 2024, March 2024 newsletter and the Employment Law webinar available from our website.
Flexible Working Changes
In April 2024 the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and Secondary legislation (The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023) were introduced.
- The Flexible Working rules were amended along with a revised code of practice from ACAS which included:
- Making flexible working a day-one right for employees.
- Employees can make 2 requests in a 12-month (rolling not calendar) period.
- Employers are required to consult with employees before rejecting a flexible working request.
- Request must be dealt with within 2 months including an appeal process that is followed.
- Employees no longer have to provide reasons as to why their request would benefit the business. The onus is now on the employer to demonstrate the potential impact to the business.
More details are available in the January 2024 newsletter.
For assistance, HR Solutions can create a Flexible Working Requests policy, offer guidance on individual requests, and provide relevant template letters for flexible working request meetings.
Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy & Family Leave Act)
- The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 modifies the existing Employment Rights Act 1996 and introduces essential safeguards for a wider group of individuals during pregnancy or family leave.
- Significantly, the Act grants priority to pregnant employees and recent parental leave returnees when considering redeployment opportunities during redundancy and employers must adhere to the guidelines, offering suitable alternative roles before redundancy.
- In essence, the Act aims to enhance job security during pregnancy and family leave, obligating fair treatment and alternative job exploration before redundancies occur.
- The new protection applies to pregnancies notified to an employer on or after 6 April 2024 and maternity/adoption leave ending on or after 6 April 2024. In respect of shared parental leave, the new protection applies to employees taking at least six weeks of shared parental leave which begins on or after 6 April 2024.
For employers, the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 enforces a set of imperative guidelines and regulations for employers, pertaining to employees who are protected by the Act. These guidelines outline that employers must uphold a commitment to preventing any unjust targeting of these certain employees for redundancy, ensuring their rights remain safeguarded.
Ultimately, the consequence of non-compliance with these regulations could lead to claims of unfair dismissal and/or discrimination being brought against employers.
More details are available in the March 2024 newsletter.
If you are considering a redundancy process you will need to ensure that you have properly thought through the implications of the new protections and the issues that may arise. HR Solutions can help you plan a fair and proper redundancy consultation process with template documents as required.
Carer’s Leave Regulations
- The Carer’s Leave Regulations came in to force from 6 April 2024 and provided employees with caring responsibilities a new right to one week of unpaid leave per year.
- This right is a day one entitlement.
- Employees are entitled to one week of unpaid time off (in a rolling 12 month period) to provide or arrange care for a dependent with long-term care needs.
- Time off can be either consecutive or non-consecutive half-days or full days.
- Employees should ensure that any requested leave is notified by at least twice the length of the requested leave, or three days if longer.
- A request can be deferred if it would unduly disrupt business operations.
- Protection against dismissal or other detriment for employees who have applied for leave.
More details are available in the January 2024 newsletter.
HR Solutions can review any existing policy you have in place or update your Employee Handbook to incorporate this and other regulation changes that came in to force on 6 April 2024.
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations
- The requirement to consult with appropriate employee representatives was updated in April 2024.
- All businesses with fewer than 50 employees were permitted from 6 April 2024 to consult directly with employees if there are no existing employee representatives in place, rather than having to arrange elections for new employee representatives.
- Businesses of any size will be permitted to consult directly with employees (where no existing employee representatives are in place) where a transfer of fewer than ten employees is proposed.
- Employers could still have elected employee representatives when consulting if they so wished where there are fewer than 50 employees.
More details are available in the March 2024 newsletter.
