This year is a busy one. We’ve already seen lots of changes in the world of employment law and we still have many on the horizon.

Let’s break it down and recap on the most recent employment law changes which came into force from 6th April to ensure your approaches in these areas are legally compliant.

In this article, we look at changes to:

• Flexible Working
• Carers Leave
• Redundancy Protections
• Paternity Leave

1. Flexible Working Changes

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act of 2023 broadens the scope of flexible working rights, granting employees more control over their working hours and locations. Effective from April 6th, 2024, these changes applies to all applications made on or after this date.

Under the new legislation, employees can:

• immediately request flexible working arrangements upon starting their employment, eliminating the previous requirement of 26 weeks’ continuous service, making this a ‘day one right’.
• submit two flexible working requests per year, up from the previous limit of one annually. Additionally, they are no longer obligated to justify the impact of their requested changes on their employer.

From an employer perspective, what has changed?

• Employers must engage in consultation with employees before rejecting a request.
• All decisions must be reached within two months instead of the previous three-month time frame.

Flexible working: What do employers need to do?

Organisations should now be sure that their policies, procedures and any organisational guides or forms are updated in line with these changes. Management training should also take place to ensure that line managers are responding appropriately to these types of requests and know their legal obligations.

Carers Leave Changes

Another one of the employment law changes to come into effect from 6th April is the introduction of Carers Leave.

There is already an existing right to take time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependent, as well as an entitlement to take up to 18 weeks off as unpaid parental leave. However, as of 6th April 2024, The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 introduces an additional right to one week’s unpaid leave for carers.

Employees now have the right to take unpaid leave to give or arrange care for a dependent who has:

• a physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months;
• a disability (as defined in the Equality Act); or
• care needs because of their old age.

The term ‘dependent’ can include a close family member (such as a child, parent or partner), a person who lives in the household (excluding tenants and employees) or a person who relies on the employee for care (such as an elderly neighbour).

As of 6th April 2024, employees will now be able to:

• take up to one week’s leave every 12 months.
• take the leave in one continuous period of time or can be taken as half or full days throughout the year.
• Employees are required to provide notice; a minimum of 3 days’ notice or twice the length of the requested time off (whichever is greater).

Carer’s leave is a ‘day one’ right, meaning all employees are eligible regardless of length of service.

Employers will not be able to decline a request for carer’s leave. However, if it is likely to cause serious disruption, the employer may delay the leave to a later date (within one month from the date of the original leave was due to start).

It’s also important to note that employees who take carer’s leave will be protected from dismissal or detriment as a result of having taken the leave.  

Carers Leave: What do employers need to do?

Employers must ensure line managers are aware of this new leave entitlement and how it applies in practice. A new Carer’s Leave Policy should be created and shared with employees.

Redundancy Protections

Employees on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave were previously entitled to enhanced redundancy protections. However, the changes which came into effect from 6th April 2024 have taken these protections one step further.

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 now expands this legal protection to include employees who are pregnant (from the date they notify their employer of their pregnancy) until 18 months after the child is born or adopted. During this time, employees who fall into this category must be offered a suitable alternative vacancy if one is available.

Redundancy Protections: What do employers need to do?

As a first priority, organisations should be sure that their Redundancy Policy is updated in line with these changes to legislation. It’s also imperative that those who are involved in any redundancy exercises keep these new protections in mind when carrying out the process.

Paternity Leave Changes

Although changes to paternity leave came into effect from 8th March, the legislation changes were only applicable to those with children born after 6th April 2024. These changes aim to provide greater flexibility and support for individuals.

These changes include:

• The introduction of flexible paternity leave allows fathers and partners to take leave intermittently, rather than in one continuous block. This offers greater flexibility to accommodate individual family needs.

Paternity Leave: What do employers need to do?

As with all the changes, it’s critical that organisations make sure their paternity/ family friendly policies are updated in line with these changes. Organisations should also consider updating their internal form templates to ensure this is clear to employees when they are requesting paternity leave.

Training should also be provided to managers to ensure they understand their employees’ entitlements in this area.

Organisations may also wish to consider reviewing their payroll systems to check they are capable of adminstering paternity pay in this new way.

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