Before Parliament dissolves, a short “wash-up period” allows the government to pass some pending legislation, subject to agreement with the opposition. On 22 May 2024, the Prime Minister announced that a general election would be held on 4 July. Subsequently, the Leader of the House of Commons announced that Parliament would be prorogued on 24 May, leaving only two sitting days for any wash-up. During this period, the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 received Royal Assent, the House of Lords approved the draft statutory code of practice on the fair allocation of tips and the Code of Practice (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Order 2024 was made.
Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024
The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 aims to simplify the process for employees to obtain the necessary time off in the event of the death of a mother or a person who is, or is expected to be, the adoptive parent of a child (see our blog about the Bill here). The key changes introduced are as follows:
- Upon the death of a child’s mother or adoptive parent, fathers or partners will be permitted to take paternity leave regardless of the usual 26-week service requirement. This means that paternity leave will become a “day one” right for bereaved partners.
- The limitation that prevents someone who has previously taken shared parental leave from taking paternity leave has been lifted.
- In instances where the child also passes away, the employee would be allowed to take paternity leave, even though it would not be for the typical purpose of childcare or supporting the mother.
- Employees on this bereavement paternity leave would be entitled to “keep-in-touch” (KIT) days and have the flexibility to perform work for their employer without this automatically ending their paternity leave.
At the third reading of the Bill in the House of Commons, the sponsoring Member of Parliament, Chris Elmore, affirmed that bereaved fathers or partners will have the option to take up to 52 weeks’ leave within the first year of their child’s life, enabling them to serve as the child’s primary caregiver. Whilst the Act does not currently incorporate this extension, the intention appears to be for this to happen through additional regulations.
Draft statutory Code of Practice on the fair and transparent distribution of tips
During the wash-up period, the House of Lords approved the draft statutory Code of Practice on the fair and transparent distribution of tips. This was created to supplement the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 (the 2023 Act) which aims to address the issue of fair and transparent tip distribution in the hospitality sector.
The 2023 Act requires employers to have a written tipping policy when tips are paid or attributed to a business more than occasionally. The code supplements this, explaining what qualifies as a tip and that the key factor is whether the employer controls or significantly influences the distribution of tips.
Discussions in the House of Lords indicate an expectation that regulations activating the remaining sections of the 2023 Act will take effect on 1 October 2024. For further information on the code, read our insight on the consultation process here.
Code of Practice (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Order 2024
The new statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement procedures, better known as “fire and rehire”, has now been approved and is set to come into force on 18 July 2024. The code is designed to offer practical advice on preventing, handling and settling disputes that arise from the practice of dismissing and then rehiring employees to alter their employment terms and conditions. It will not be applicable in cases where the employer has broached the possibility of dismissal and re-engagement prior to 18 July 2024.
The code now aims to restrict the use of “fire and rehire” practices to a measure of last resort by employers, rather than a bargaining tool. Employers are expected to consider other options and engage in proper consultation with employees before suggesting dismissal and re-engagement. Although the code does not cover redundancy scenarios, it does apply if employers are weighing up both redundancy and dismissal and re-engagement for the same employees. Additionally, employers must now reach out to Acas before proposing dismissal and re-engagement.
Whilst there is no direct claim for a violation of the code, employment tribunals will have the ability to increase compensation by up to 25% for an employer’s unreasonable failure to comply. For more details on the code’s provisions, see our blog here.
