HR Alert: Big changes for 2020

THERE are some big employment law changes planned from April 2020.

Under the government's Good Work Plan:

• Every new employee and worker will have the right to receive a statement of written particulars from day one of their employment. The penalty for failing to provide the statement will be two weeks’ pay.
• Agency workers need to be provided with a key information document that includes details about pay, costs, benefits, deductions and fees.
• The reference period to take an average for holiday pay for those with varied hours will increase to 52 weeks from 12 weeks.

Other changes include:

• The Swedish derogation law regarding agency workers to be scrapped in a bid to encourage employers to take on permanent employees.
• The threshold required for a valid request to set up information and consultation arrangements will be reduced from 10 per cent to two per cent of employees. The requirement for the request to be made by a minimum of 15 employees remains.
• Confidentiality clauses in contracts or settlement agreements preventing disclosure to the police, regulated health or care or legal professions to be prohibited.

We are still waiting confirmation for the following proposed changes:

• Reducing the disclosure period for criminal sentences lasting four years or less.
• Redundancy protection for new parents to be extended.
• Right for workers to request a more predictable and stable contract after 26 weeks.
• Increasing the break in service from one week to four weeks.
• Introducing employment status tests.
• Extension of shared parental leave to grandparents.