The government has chosen not to bring into force the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023. It will instead unveil fresh rights for zero hours workers in the upcoming Employment Rights Bill. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated duty to prevent sexual harassment will come into force on 26 October 2024.
Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 shelved
Whilst expected to come into force from September 2024, the Department for Business and Trade has shelved the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023. Under this legislation, eligible workers would have gained the right to request a predictable working pattern. This was focused on addressing the issue of “one-sided flexibility” to increase predictability and income security for employees.
Instead, in line with its pre-election Plan to Make Work Pay, the government has confirmed its intention to include a new right to a contract based on regularly worked hours in the Employment Rights Bill. It is likely that a worker’s “regular work pattern” will be based on a 12-week reference period.
The government also plans to introduce two additional rights to strengthen the protection for workers on zero hours or other variable contracts:
- a right to reasonable notice of changes to shifts or working time; and
- a right to proportionate compensation for cancelled or curtailed shifts.
The new duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace
The government has confirmed that the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 will come into force as planned on 26 October 2024. Under this legislation, employers will be subject to a new duty to take “reasonable steps” to protect employees from sexual harassment in the course of their employment. The government may strengthen this duty in future, to require employers take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Our recent insight explored this significant new duty for employers and set out five practical steps employers should be taking now to prepare:
- Identify key stakeholders who need to be involved in the change process including HR, ESG leaders, employee representatives etc.
- Understand what is currently happening through staff engagement surveys, reflecting on past issues and undertaking a new risk assessment.
- Review or update your sexual harassment policy.
- Provide training specific to your organisation’s policies, risks and culture.
- Embed data privacy protections in all these steps.
You can read the full insight here for further information. Please reach out to Elouisa Crichton with any questions.
