Employment Law Archives | orgshakers.com

For the first time in over 14 years, the new Labour government in the UK will get to set the employment law agenda after their landslide victory on 4^th July 2024.

In the lead up to the election, a large component of their manifesto was the proposed extensive reforms to UK employment law as part of their Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering a New Deal for Working People. Upon their win, it was said that Labour would begin introducing new legislation within the first 100 days of taking office, but does not specify which particular measures will be introduced over this period. However, despite the promise of a swift turnaround, the standard implementation periods will still apply for any new laws, so we likely won’t see any of these changes go into effect for another 6-12 months.

Despite this, those employers who are aware of the impending changes can begin preparing for them sooner rather than later. Here’s a list of some of the key legislative changes to expect in the coming year:

Unfair Dismissal – employees will be entitled to unfair dismissal rights from day one of employment instead of after two years. This helps to ensure that new hires are not terminated without cause (however, employers will still be able to operate probationary periods).
Fire and Rehire – the practice of an employer making an employee redundant and then re-engaging them on reduced terms and conditions will be banned. The previous code of practice that was coming into effect on 18^th July 2024 from the previous government will be replaced with a ‘strengthened’ code.
Single Enforcement Body – Labour plans to establish a single enforcement body to enforce workers’ rights going forward, to include not only equality and human rights but other areas such as health and safety, minimum wage, and worker exploitation (trade unions and TUC will have representation in this new body). The body will have strong powers to undertake targeted and proactive enforcement work, such as unannounced inspections and following up on anonymous tips.
Tribunal Claims – extending the time limit for bringing claims in an employment tribunal from three months to six months.
Collective Grievances – employees will have the ability to raise grievances collectively about conduct in their workplace directly to Acas.
Equal Pay and Action Plans – UK employers with more than 250 staff are currently required to report and publish their gender pay gap data each April, but now this will be extended to reporting and publishing data on the ethnic and disability pay gap as well. Large employers are also going to be required to develop and implement action plans to close their gender pay gaps, and must now include outsourced workers in their pay ratio reporting. These employers are also required to produce Menopause Action Plans that highlight how they will support employees going through the menopause.
Sexual Harassment and Whistleblowing – there will be a duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and this will be extended to third parties. Women who report sexual harassment at work will also be covered by the same protections from dismissal and detriment as whistleblowers, whose protection is also set to be strengthened for this very reason.
Family Leave Rights – Labour plans to make various enhancements to family leave rights, including making parental leave available from day one of employment, making it unlawful to dismiss a woman during pregnancy or within six months of her return from maternity leave, and clarifying and extending bereavement leave to all employees – as well as plans to review the potential benefit of paid carer’s leave.
Zero-Hour Contracts – ‘exploitative’ zero-hour contracts will be banned, and workers will have the right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work based on a twelve-week reference period. Workers will also receive reasonable notice of any change in shifts or working time, with compensation offered that is proportionate to the notice given for any shifts cancelled or curtailed.
Right to Switch Off –workers will have the ‘right to switch off ‘from work outside of working hours, meaning that employers wouldn’t be allowed to contact employees outside of working hours unless under extenuating circumstances. This is to help ward off burnout and the prospect of the home becoming a 24/7 office.
Right to Flexible Working – requesting flexible working recently became a day one right in the UK, but Labour have stated that flexible working will be made default for all workers from the first day of employment except where not reasonably feasible.
Trade Unions – employers will be required to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. Industrial action ballot requirements will also be eased, and limitations on union workplace access will be lifted.
National Minimum Wage – age bands will be removed from national minimum wage so that all workers are paid the same regardless of how young they are. There are also plans to expand the remit of the Low Pay Commission (which reviews and makes recommendations on the minimum wage rate) to ensure that the wage takes into consideration the cost of living.

There is a lot of change on the horizon, and so keeping in stride with it to remain legally compliant can sometimes prove tricky. If you would like to discuss the support services we can offer in implementing these legislative changes, please get in touch with me at therese@orgshakers.com

On April 23^rd, 2024, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced a finalized rule which will see the minimum compensation levels increasing for the ‘white collar’ exemptions to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime premium pay requirements.

The rule will significantly increase the minimum salary threshold for those who work in an executive, professional, or administrative role (the so called ‘white collar’ exemptions). The threshold will increase across two dates; one on July 1^st, 2024, and the other will follow on January 1^st, 2025.

The current threshold for this exemption is $684 per week ($35,568 annually). This threshold will increase as follows:

July 1^st, 2024, the threshold will rise to $844 per week ($43,888 annually).
January 1^st, 2025, the threshold will rise to $1,128 per week ($58,656 annually).

In addition to this, this new rule also increases the minimum annualized salary threshold to qualify for the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption. As it stands, the current threshold for HCE employees is $107,432 annually, but this will increase as follows:

July 1^st, 2024, the threshold will rise to $132,964 annually.
January 1^st, 2025, the threshold will rise to $151,164 annually.

Employees who meet the new minimum pay requirements must also meet all the other requirements of the FLSA exemptions in order to apply for one. For clarity, here are the criteria that need to be met alongside salary for each ‘white collar’ role:

Executive:

The primary duties of the employee must relate to managing the business, or a department within the business.
The employee must regularly manage at least two full-time employees, or the equivalent in part-time employees.
The employee must have the authority to hire or fire employees, or the employee’s recommendations on hiring, firing, and promotions must carry significant weight.

Professional:

The employee’s primary duties must relate to work that is largely intellectual and involves the regular use of “discretion and independent judgment” (defined by the DOL).
The employee must work in a field of science or learning.
The employee must have acquired his or her knowledge through a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

Administrative:

The employee’s primary duties must be the performance of office or nonmanual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the company (or the general business operations of the company’s clients).
The employee must regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment on important matters.

It is important for employers to be aware of these changes so to ensure that the employees who they are enrolling for exemption are still applicable against these new monetary criteria. This will either mean raising salaries to meet these new threshold increases, or formally reclassifying currently exempt employees and making them aware of their eligibility for overtime.

If you would like to discuss how we can help assist you with auditing your current payroll in anticipation of this change, as well as overseeing the management of this change, please get in touch with us.

With today marking the start of World Breastfeeding Week, now is the time that organizations should be ensuring they are providing a positive workplace environment for those nursing that will benefit them all year round.

People that are still breastfeeding when returning to work will need to express breast milk between 8-10 times over a 24-hour period. In the US, it is a legal requirement for employers to provide a private space to express, as well as allowing their breastfeeding employees to take breaks as frequently as necessary. These facilities must be available for at least a year, and this set of policies are known as the federal Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law. However, there can be regional differences to these laws; for example, in the state of Colorado there is no set amount of time a company must cater for the needs of those breastfeeding.

New Zealand and parts of Canada follow a very similar approach, with employers required to provide the appropriate facilities for anyone breastfeeding.

In the UK, however, there is currently no formal legal requirement for a workplace to provide such facilities. As a result, it was reported last year that a Member of Parliament, Stella Creasy, had been criticized for bringing her baby son to her workplace – the Houses of Parliament in London – while she was still breastfeeding him. Shortly after, Ms Creasy received an official notice stating that she should not take her seat in the debating chamber with a child – a notice she subsequently published on Twitter to highlight the issue surrounding the lack of support for women in this same position at work.

While there is guidance from the Health and Safety Executive which recommends that a clean environment (that is not a bathroom) be supplied, there is an opportunity for employers in the UK to take responsibility for supporting the needs of their nursing employees.

The importance of women having a space to breastfeed at work is vital for their health and safety. There is a risk of swelling and soreness if a woman doesn’t express when needed, and in extreme cases this can lead to a bacterial infection called mastitis.

The embedding of inclusion policies for breastfeeding can help remove the pervading stigma that is clearly still attached to those nursing in some workplaces and, in turn, help create an even safer and more inclusive workplace culture overall. Whether there are laws in place or not, it is also about employers ensuring they are adopting the right attitudes towards breastfeeding, and that their teams are as well.

There are common misconceptions around breastfeeding a lot of the time, one of these being that when women go to express, they are ‘taking a break’ and/or ‘wasting time’ at work. But it is important for staff to be educated around the realities of expressing, and how it can be a tiring and somewhat uncomfortable thing to be doing multiple times a day (to the point where women are burning an additional 500 calories a day when breastfeeding!).

This ideology also completely undermines the fact that those expressing are not able to multitask while doing so. Considering there are a wide range of breast pumps available on the market now – including hands-free pumps – women are able to work on reports, catch up with emails, make calls…all while pumping. So ensuring that your teams and your managers are educated around the realities of expressing is just as important for creating a safe space for female colleagues to do so.

This is without mentioning the business case for this support, which can lead to a reduced absence rate and higher retention rates from those working mothers who feel recognized and valued.

With the US, Canada, and New Zealand leading the way in accommodating the needs of breastfeeding workers, executives around the world should seize the opportunity to show leadership in their countries. For advice on how to approach the implementation of these strategies, you can contact me directly at stephanie.rodriguez@orgshakers.com

At the beginning of January, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a new law that would ban the use of non-compete clauses, as well as rescind any previously signed agreements.

This may seem like a drastic change – especially with nearly a third (31.8%) of employers making all their employees sign a non-compete – but the banning of these clauses will very likely have a positive effect overall.

For one thing, non-compete agreements are notoriously US-centric. If you look at companies in Europe – as well as states such as California, who have not enforced these since 1872 – it is clear that the absence of these binding agreements has not hindered profitability.

And this is because there are many ways that are more effective than non-compete agreements to protect yourself as a business. The reality of a non-compete is that they are like threatening someone with a blunt hammer; they’re very difficult and very costly to argue in court, so usually won’t have much effect. But they hold weighty connotations that are enough to deter people from attempting to break them.

Instead, employers can hold employees to their duty of loyalty, which means that while they are working with them, they will not do anything that is inconsistent with the organization’s interests.

As well as this, the FTC’s new rules still allow for the recovery of reasonable costs of training, as well as the implementation of a non-solicitation clause so that a reasonable degree of confidentiality is still intact after an employee terminates their contract. So from a legal standpoint, you are still covered in the areas that you need to be, while also making room for an acceleration of innovation to take place in the market.

It will also set into motion the recalibration of retention strategies. For lack of a better word, a non-compete agreement is a lazy tool, and so with its revoking, this paves the way for businesses to focus on using more positive, people-centric strategies to promote retention. These will emphasize how a company values its team members, and with leaders demonstrating the trust they have in their staff, they will foster a healthy sense of loyalty without the need for it in writing.

What employers need to take from this proposition is that job mobility does not mean the free flow of confidential information. It simply means that the labor market becomes more flexible and competitive, and is an opportunity for businesses to gain access to top talent. But the companies that are examining their attraction and retention strategies and taking into account the changing needs of the workforce will be the ones who get ahead in this raging war for talent.

OrgShakers can help with this. With a vast amount of experience and knowledge on these subjects, we can ensure that the rescinding of non-competes is smooth and successful, all the while aiding in strengthening your retention strategies and boosting employee loyalty. If you would like to discuss how we can do this, get in touch with me at: elizabeth.huldin@orgshakers.com