Welcome to Wrigleys' Employment Law Bulletin, May 2022.

As we approach the Queen's platinum jubilee celebrations, we open this month's bulletin with a review of the Queen's speech, delivered by the Prince of Wales on 10 May. We highlight the relevant points for employers, and the notable absences as we continue to await the long-promised Employment Bill.

We are seeing an increasing number of queries from clients concerning long term sickness absence connected to "long Covid". We consider the latest statistics on the impact of long Covid on sufferers and whether it could qualify as a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

Following Wrigleys' contribution to a recent Government consultation, we report on Government proposals to ban exclusivity clauses where workers earn below the Lower Earnings Limit. This would extend the current protections for zero hours workers to those with guaranteed hours who earn less than £123 per week (at current rates).

We also report on the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting Ltd which considered whether an employee was automatically unfairly dismissed when he refused to return to work during the first Covid lockdown because of his fears about the virus.

We are delighted to invite our readers to our annual Employment Law Conference for Charities which takes place on 16 June 2022. The theme for the day is Inclusivity in Today's Working Environment. This will be a whole day virtual conference and we are privileged to be joined by inspirational external speakers Sophia Moreau, Lauren Chiren and Robin White. The day includes sessions on equality, diversity and inclusion, improving support for staff going through the menopause, the rights of trans staff, neurodiversity in the workplace, and recent developments in family friendly rights and policy. You can book your place by clicking on the link below. We very much look forward to welcoming you to our conference!

We are always interested in feedback or suggestions for topics that may be of interest to you, so please do get in touch.

– Alacoque Marvin, Editor alacoque.marvin@wrigleys.co.uk

Queen's speech and employment law 2022

Article published on 16 May 2022

We set out the key takeaways for employers from this year's Queen's speech.

There were relatively few items mentioned in this year's Queen's speech of specific relevance to employers. We consider the key takeaways and impacts of this below.

No Employment Bill

In the Queen's Speech delivered in December 2019 the then recently elected Conservative government led by Boris Johnson announced it would introduce a new Employment Bill designed to bring together a number of changes to UK employment law. Among the proposed issues the Bill was expected to address were:

  • The creation of a single enforcement body designed to make enforcing employment rights easier (as opposed to the current multi-departmental approach via HMRC, the HSE, Local Authorities, etc.)
  • The right to request more predictable working hours
  • Making flexible working the default
  • Giving unpaid carers the right to a week's leave
  • Introducing leave for neonatal care
  • Extending redundancy protection for employees absent due to maternity or pregnancy
  • To ensure tips go to workers in full

A lot has happened since the Employment Bill. In March 2021 the Government confirmed the Bill would not be brought forward during that Parliament and that it would be introduced 'when Parliamentary time allows'. Into 2022, there was an expectation that, with the country now moving past the coronavirus pandemic, the Employment Bill may make a reappearance in this year's Queen Speech, but it has not. It is therefore not clear if the Bill is on legislative agenda for this Parliament.

New legislation for seafarers

In the wake of the actions by P&O ferries, which saw the company make mass redundancies and bring in replacements on much cheaper hourly rates, the Government has announced plans to introduce the Harbours (Seafarers' Remuneration) Bill.

The Bill is designed to protect seafarers working on vessels which regularly visit UK ports by giving the port authorities the right to refuse access to ferry services if the staff of that vessel are not paid the equivalent of the National Minimum Wage. However, the British Ports Association has already raised questions about the effectiveness of these proposals which would make port authorities responsible for enforcing the NMW.

New initiatives to encourage employee training

The Government has stated its aim to encourage the private sector to invest in employee training schemes, including apprenticeships. The plan is to do this by looking at the current tax system, including the apprenticeship levy, and consider whether there is sufficient incentive for employers to invest in high-quality employee training.

Conclusion

It is not yet clear why the Government have once again omitted the Employment Bill from this year's Queen's Speech. It is worth noting that some of the proposals for the Employment Bill originate in the Good Work Plan, which was published in 2018 and was designed to address key concerns and gaps in the law which had arisen as more and more people work in the 'gig economy'.

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