The latest raft of changes to workers’ rights, created by the Employment Rights Act, come into force in Great Britain next week.
Chief amongst these is on statutory sick pay, which now becomes a day one right for all workers. Paternity leave also becomes a day one right, while there are greater protections against sexual harassment.
April 6 also sees the simplifying of the recognition process for trade unions, and the establishment of a Fair Work Agency, as a single enforcement agency with a wide remit for labour market regulation.
Greeting the new changes, UNISON assistant general secretary Maggi Ferncombe said: “The Employment Rights Act shifts the balance of power in workplaces – a two-year implementation of individual and collective rights.
“And the raft of improvements implemented in April this year is just the start of that. From statutory sick pay from day one, which means that workers will no longer have to go to work ill – putting vulnerable people at risk – to the right to bereavement, paternity and parental leave that will ensure workers get the support they need during life-changing events.
“These rights, that I’m proud UNISON campaigned for, put workers’ welfare at the forefront – where it should be.”
The new laws are:
- Statutory sick pay (SSP) becomes a day one right for all workers, and the earnings threshold is eliminated. Northern Ireland is included
- Day one right to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave
- Bereaved partners’ paternity leave will enable bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life
- A worker’s disclosure of sexual harassment will now be protected under whistleblowing law
- The Fair Work Agency is established, whose powers will include enforcing tribunal judgements that have been ignored and the payment of settlements, and tackling exploitation in the labour market
- The TU recognition process is simplified, and the support threshold will be lowered
- The maximum protective award for failure to inform and consult on collective redundancy will double from 90 days’ pay to 180 days pay.
There is one further, optional change. From April 2027, organisations with 250+ employers will be required to develop action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through the menopause. But the government is encouraging employers to start these early on a voluntary basis.
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