What’s happening in UK employment law in 2024: timeline

15 February 2024

With a raft of upcoming legislative changes, there’s a lot to keep on top of in 2024. We’ve produced a timeline to help keep track of what’s ahead.

Last month we wrote in detail about the range of significant changes to employment legislation that 2024 has in store. We have now condensed the key developments into a timeline so you can see at a glance what’s coming up.

Each entry links to one of our more detailed publications on the topic, which will explain in more detail what the change entails and how to plan for it.

April

Holiday: irregular hour and part year workers

Relevant workers will accrue paid leave at the end of each pay period at 12.07% of hours worked which can be paid on rolled up basis. Applies to holiday years starting from 1 April.

National Minimum Wage

Significant increase from £10.42 to £11.44.

The right to request flexible working will become a day 1 right. Further changes to take effect include the right to make 2 requests a year, enhanced consultation requirements and a shorter decision timeframe.

Paternity leave

Changes to paternity leave will include being able to take leave in two separate blocks of one week within 52 weeks of birth (up from 8 weeks).

Redundancy protection

Priority for suitable alternative employment in a redundancy situation will be extended to pregnant employees and those who have recently returned from maternity/adoption and shared parental leave.

Carer’s leave

New day 1 right to a week’s unpaid carer’s leave a year to provide care for a dependant with a long-term care need.

July

Tips

The new Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 will come into effect on 1 July, requiring employers to pass on 100% of tips without deductions, have a compliant written policy, keep records and pay promptly.

TUPE

Employers can consult with employees directly (unless employee representatives are in place) for transfers after 1 July 2024 where the business has fewer than 50 employees or where the transfer involves fewer than 10 employees.

Sept/Oct

Sexual harassment

The duty to take proactive steps to prevent employees from being sexually harassed will come into effect on 26 October.

Right to request predictable terms & conditions

The new statutory right to request a predictable work pattern is expected to come into force in September. An employer must respond to the request within one month and if refused, must cite one of the listed statutory reasons for refusal.