LEGAL & FINANCE
date of April 2024. This is a new day-one right for employees to take up to one week of unpaid carer’s leave to provide or arrange for care for a dependant with a long-term care need. This will require not just a review of contracts and handbooks, but training managers on who is entitled to apply for it, having a system in place to record it and the circumstances when it may be reasonable to request the employee to postpone the leave (and how to go about this). A thorough understanding of the rules and their consistent application throughout the business will be essential.
“The regulations introduce new rules designed to simplify the calculation and payment of
holidays for people who work irregular hours or only part of the year.”
CHANGES TO WORKING PATTERNS
Other updates include the arrival of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act that will come into effect in 2024. This has been more heavily covered in the press and sets out changes to the framework that allows employees to make flexible working requests. The government is also extending this right to all employees from day one of their employment.
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Implementation is likely to be more straightforward here, but there are still factors to consider when evaluating flexible working requests. Chiefly, managers need to mindful of when a request for flexible working is actually a request for a reasonable adjustment to be made to their working arrangements under the Equality Act. Any request based on long-term health issues should be treated particularly carefully.
Employers should also watch out for the currently vague but potentially very impactful right to request a more predictable working pattern, which is due to come into force in October 2024. There are a number of reasons why implementing this legislation could be tricky, not least determining who the rules apply to, as unlike flexible working which applies only to employees, this right will apply to other atypical workers including agency workers.
WHERE TO START
The coming changes to employment will have a serious impact on the care sector, more so than most given the ubiquity of irregular and part-year work. If managers are to take the changes in their stride, they need the time and space to work out what they mean for them. Then they need to adapt their policies, consult their employees, and update their contracts to reflect the new rules.
But the deadlines are approaching fast, and with the details of many new regulations yet to be released, they’re unlikely to get much breathing room before it’s time to start implementing the changes. This is where expert advice is indispensable and could save businesses considerable time and money, bridging the gap between the legislation and operations on the ground.
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