Employment Law Changes affecting your Business this April.

An unprecedented amount of employment legislation change has already taken place this year, which businesses need to be aware of.

April 2024 changes are now in place and there’s plenty for business owners to check to make sure they remain compliant. Align People HR have provided a quick Q&A summary of some of the changes:

Q: How do I calculate holiday entitlement for flexible workers?

• Employers can now start using the rolled-up holiday pay calculation again for part-year workers. This should be a welcome change for some as it simplifies what can be a complex calculation.

Q: What’s the change to the flexible working statutory entitlement?

• All employees now have the right to request flexible working from day 1 of employment. As a result, employers might want to double check new employees’ agreement on the working hours offered for a position during the recruitment process to avoid any early surprises.

Q: What are the changes with Paternity leave?

• New fathers and partners can now separate their paternity leave into 2 x one-week blocks instead of taking the two-week entitlement in one go.
• Paternity leave can be taken any time in the 52 weeks after the birth or adoption of their child.

Q: What’s the Introduction of Carer’s leave for unpaid carers?

• This is a brand new right from day 1 of employment for employees with unpaid carer responsibilities. They are now entitled to take up to 1 week unpaid leave every 12 months to give or arrange care for a ‘dependent’. It’s worth noting that ‘dependent’ is defined as anyone who relies on the employee for care, not just a family member.

• The unpaid week off can be taken in one go, as individual days or half days throughout the year. Employees can also use the week for more than one dependent if needed. Further rules apply.

Q: Are our business statutory pay rates still compliant?

• Increase to the NMW and NLW to £11.44 per hour
• Increase to SMP, SAP, SPP, SSPP, SPBP & MA from £172.48 to £184.03 per week.
• Increase to SSP rate from £109.40 to £116.75 per week.

Q: Anything else?

• There have been other employment law changes brought in this year including an extension of protection during redundancy for those on family leave.

• Additional employment legislation changes are planned for July and September.

Q: How do businesses keep themselves right?

• If you’re looking for an HR partner to guide you through the changes, get in touch with the friendly team at Align People HR. We’re happy to help keep you compliant with straightforward guidance, updating of policies, employee handbooks and employment contract templates.

Align People HR are an independent, growing HR consultancy based in Westhill, Aberdeen.

We partner with ambitious SMEs to build great places to work where your people and business flourish.​ We bring fresh thinking with our professional HR business partnering service and unique leadership development programmes. All offered with affordable contract terms to suit your business.