What will 2022 bring for employment law?
19 Jan 2022
Only a fool would try to predict the future at the moment.
The pandemic, political turbulence and recruitment and labour crisis mean it’s almost impossible to tell what’s around the corner more than a few days in advance – and sometimes not even then.
But we do know that there will be a raft of likely employment law changes across 2022 for which businesses should be preparing.
One new measure we are expecting this year – though there is no precise timetable as of yet – is the introduction of a duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment and new protections from third-party harassment.
The Government has already said it will introduce the duty “when parliamentary time allows” but has not yet published its draft legislation. It looks likely that this will be done some time in the coming 12 months, and we’ll keep you updated when the time comes.
The Government is also expected to unveil its long-awaited Employment Bill this year, which will include a raft of key measures impacting on workplaces.
One of these will likely be the introduction of a new right to carer’s leave – something the Government flagged that it would be bringing into force as a ‘day one right’ in a consultation paper last September.
It will grant one week’s unpaid leave – up to five working days – to employees with long-term caring responsibilities, with the flexibility to take that leave in either full or half days.
We have already discussed another key change in an earlier blog – the right for workers to receive tips and gratuities which are left for them for the service they have provided.
Hospitality sector employers will be required to have a written policy on tips and keep a record of how tips are dealt with whilst the Government will produce a new statutory Code of Practice on Tipping for employers – replacing the current voluntary arrangements.
The Employment Bill will also include the provision of statutory neonatal leave and pay for parents of babies requiring neonatal care – something the Government has signalled a couple of times already in the past two years.
Under the new provision, parents will be allowed to take an additional week of leave for every week their baby is in neonatal care, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. The leave will be paid for anyone who has met the 26-week-service qualifying period who earns more than the minimum pay threshold.
The Employment Bill is also likely to include the Government’s response to the consultation period which ended last month into the right to request flexible working.
Coming off the back of the pandemic it will be fascinating to see what approach the Government takes to implementing in law some of the workplace changes that Covid has brought about.
Other measures likely to figure in the new bill include:
- Establishment of a new single enforcement body for employment rights
- Extension of protection against redundancy for pregnant women and new parents
- A right to request a more predictable contract
Of course, the pandemic may yet change all the Government’s plans and timetables and we may have to wait some time yet for the Employment Bill, but we’ll keep you up to speed on that.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or concerns about employment law at your business, click on the link for a free consultation and we’ll be happy to help.
