Employment law in 2023; what to expect

That last year has seen lots of development in the Employment law sector, and, whether you’re an employee or an employer, understanding your rights might be a little challenging.

In this blog, our Employment Partner, Sam Castle, lays out what you can expect for Employment law in 2023 and beyond.

Upcoming changes in Employment Law

Changes to the National Minimum and Living Wage

In the Autumn Budget, the new National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates were announced, which will come into effect on the 1st of April 2023.

More inclusive statutory family leave pay

New Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Shared Parental, Adoption and Parental Bereavement Pay, as well as Maternity Allowance rates, were announced in November 2022. These will come into effect on the 2nd of April 2023.

Increased Statutory Sick Pay

The increased new rates were also announced in November 2022, which will come into force on 6^th April 2023, and see an increase from £99.35 to £109.40 per week.

‘Fire and rehire’ to be addressed in the Statutory Code of Practice

Although the new draft Acas Code of Practice on ‘fire and rehire’ was planned to be published in 2022, it is now expected early this year.

Tribunal cases will be required to take into account the new code when considering the fairness of dismissals and will be able to award a 25% increase in compensation if an employer fails to comply.

Gender pay gap reporting

Public sector organisations with 250 employees or more must submit their gender pay gap reporting by 30th March 2023, and for voluntary and private sector organisations, the deadline is 4th April 2023. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are exempt from this.

It’s important to note that in October 2022, it was announced that the definition of SMEs had been increased to organisations with less than 500 employees. However, there has been no confirmation from the Government on whether this change will be applied to gender pay gap reporting in 2023.

Private members’ Bills

Although the long-anticipated Employment Bill has not yet been published, some of the measures expected to be included in the Bill are being addressed in Government-backed private member’s bills. With this government support, it is hoped that these bills will become law by Summer 2023.

Private Members’ Bills to look out for include:

Changes to the flexible working regime 

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill includes the employee’s right to two flexible working requests within a 12-month period, the requirement for employers to discuss alternatives to flexible working requests if they are rejected, reduce the employer’s decision-making time from three months to two months, and remove the requirement for employees to explain how their proposed flexible working would affect their employer.

Additionally, the right to request flexible working will become a day 1 right.

The duty to prevent sexual harassment

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill is in its early stages but will introduce the proactive duty of employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, shifting the focus to prevention rather than reaction.

Additionally, employer liability for harassment of staff by customers or other third parties will be introduced to further protect employees. Employers can protect themselves from claims like this by showing that they took reasonable, practical steps to prevent harassment.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are also re-writing the Code of Practice on Harassment, to ‘raise the bar’ in defining the action employers need to take to prevent harassment in the workplace.

We can expect an increase in training for both employers and employees.

More expansive redundancy protection

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill will be extended beyond maternity, shared parental leave and adoption, to cover all periods of pregnancy and the months immediately following a return to work after family leave. This is expected to be six months.

Employees protected under this bill can still be selected for redundancy but will have priority over other employees for alternative vacancies.

It is still unclear whether this priority will extend to new starters who have also returned from family leave, or whether the protective six-month period will cover any type of leave, including short periods of shared parental leave.

One week’s unpaid leave for carers

The Carer’s Leave Bill proposes the introduction of a statutory right to one week’s unpaid leave per 12-month period for employees with caring responsibilities.

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill

This Bill will introduce the employee right to neonatal leave and pay for parents whose babies spend time in neonatal care units.

Find out more

There were lots of additional Employment law changes proposed in 2022, which we highlighted in our August 2022 Employment Law Round-Up, including new legislation around industrial action, long COVID and disability rights.

Whether you’re an employer or employee, our specialist Employment Law Solicitors are here to help you understand your rights. Get in touch by calling us on 0117 253 0378 or completing our online enquiry form.