Brexit may now seem like a distant memory, but the ramifications are still being dealt with in the legal framework of the UK. Earlier this month the government announced that it was intending to make a number of important changes to employment law in England and Wales.

Working Time Regulations

The first area in which changes are to be made is in relation to the Working Time Regulations (WTR). These dictate matters such as holiday pay, how often an employee should be given a break, and how many days in a week an employee can work. The three main changes under the WTR are as follows:

1. ‘Normal’ holiday leave will be merged with ‘additional’ holiday leave. This means that there will now be just one entitlement. The government has not yet discussed this but it could lead to the calculation of holiday pay reverting to the old method whereby things like commission and overtime are excluded.
2. It will also now be possible to have ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay which was technically unlawful under EU law. This means that the employer can pay an employee an additional amount on top of their normal hourly wage which is intended to represent their holiday pay instead of them actually taking the time off.
3. The requirement for record-keeping under the WTR for working hours will be removed.

TUPE

There will also be changes to the TUPE Regulations which come into play when an organisation, or part of it, is transferred from one employer to another, or a service is transferred to a new provider.

The government intends to change the procedural requirements under TUPE. In particular, they are looking to remove the requirement to consult with appointed representatives in circumstances when there are less than 50 employees in the business and less than 10 transferees. This is not expected to have a substantial impact because there is currently an exemption for micro-businesses whereby consultation was not required for businesses with less than 10 employees.

Non-compete clauses

Non-compete clauses are often included in employment contracts to prevent or restrict individual’s from working for, or establishing, a competing business after they have left their role. Whilst these help to protect businesses, unnecessarily onerous clauses can inhibit workers in their job search and limit the ability of businesses to compete.

The government have proposed their intention to legislate to limit the length of non-compete clauses to 3 months. The hope is that this will give employees more flexibility and freedom when finding a new job or starting a business after leaving their job. However, the government have made clear that their plans to limit non-compete clauses will not interfere with the ability of employers to use paid notice periods, gardening leave and non-solicitation clauses. It will also not affect any confidentiality clauses.

Timeline

The government have not yet announced a timetable for the implementation of these changes. However, as the changes will not require primary legislation, they could be brought in quite quickly.

If you have any questions about any of the points raised in this article, or if you have any other employment law related issues, please get in touch with Charlotte Braham on 01494 893529.