After a few years where there has not been much to report on the employment front, April 2024 marks the start of some activity which employers should be aware of. We have picked out the key points below.
Changes at a glance:
From 1 April…
- The national minimum wage (NMW) – The NMW is increasing. See here for details of the rates.
- Holiday pay – For leave years commencing after 1 April, the ability to utilise rolled up holiday pay is back for part-year and irregular hours workers. Rolled-up holiday pay is the practice of making a payment to an employee or worker in respect of their accrued holiday on top of their normal rate of pay (effectively an enhanced hourly rate) as an alternative to paid holiday leave. Holiday can be calculated in hours and will accrue at the rate of 12.07% of the hours worked in the pay period.
From 6 April…
- Flexible working – The right to request flexible working will apply from day 1 of employment and the employee will no longer have to explain the potential effect of their application and how this could be dealt with. Up to two applications may be made within 12 months and employers should deliver their response within two months (unless an extension is agreed).
Acas has a new draft code of practice on this here:
- Carer’s leave – Employees who need to arrange or provide care for a dependent with a long-term care need will be entitled to take unpaid carers leave. Leave can be taken in half or full day increments up to a maximum of one week in a 12-month period.
- Paternity leave – For employees, whose partner whose expected week of childbirth is after 6 April, paternity leave will no longer have to be taken in two consecutive weeks and may instead be taken in two separate one-week chunks at any time in the 52 weeks following childbirth.
- Redundancy pay – The cap on a week’s pay will increase to £700.
- Redundancy during pregnancy – The existing right for women on maternity leave to have a preferential right to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy in a redundancy situation is being extended. The right will now apply to pregnant women and for 18 months following the date of birth of the child. Therefore, new parents who have recently returned from maternity, adoption leave, or shared parental leave (lasting six or more weeks) will also enjoy the protection.
Get in touch
If you are an employer and would like to discuss any of the content of this article further, or have any employment queries generally, Melanie Rowe (Legal Director), would be delighted to hear from you. You can reach Melanie on 07854 029922 or you can email her melanie.rowe@murrellassociates.co.uk.