It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Emma Tice, head of HR & Employment Law at Precept.
Keeping on top of changes in HR & Employment Law will be the biggest challenge for businesses in 2024 – and it will make sure that companies such as Precept are kept extremely busy over the next 12 months.
Some of these changes have already happened; the UK government has introduced new regulations that take effect in January 2024 affecting how holiday pay is calculated with rolled up holiday pay now allowed for irregular hours or part-time workers, as well as amending harassment protections in the workplace and flexible working arrangements.
The new year will see an increase in the National Living Wage for workers over the age of 23, an overhaul to the statutory flexible working regime and protections for family-friendly rights on the cards.
It is going to be vital that organisations are properly informed and armed with knowledge because some of these changes are pretty important – and you can bet your bottom dollar that your staff are going to be keenly aware of what’s going on, as that’s a trend we’ve seen since the dreaded days of the pandemic. Employees are much more attuned to what their rights are and they’re also far more willing to take steps to enforce those rights.
Next year could also see a new government at the helm and, should this happen, then there may well be even more changes to HR & Employment Law.
The Labour party has indicated that it will make significant changes to the ‘Employment Rights Bill’ within its first 100 days in office to include better sick pay, the creation of new and extended legal rights for trade unions, a ban on zero-hour contracts and a proposal to make fire and re-hire tactics unlawful.
Any major policy reforms, though, will take several months to be introduced and implemented, but it’s important to be aware that these changes could be on the horizon.
