Changes to legislation to strengthen protection for atypical workers, such as agency workers and those on zero hours contracts are due to come into force on April 6th, 2020.
The new Regulations will amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 by including a provision for a written statement of particulars to be a ‘Day One’ right of employment. There will also be additional requirements regarding the statement i.e. eligibility for sick leave and pay and details of other family leave, such as maternity and paternity leave.
Both the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Working Time Regulations 1998 will also be amended in relation to the period calculation for annual leave, and to promote fairness for agency workers and those on zero hours contracts.
Additional amendments to legislation are also planned to close the loophole, which is known as a ‘Swedish Derogation Clause’. This allows agency staff to be paid less than permanent employees through workers having a contract with the agency, rather than the end client, and by paying the employees between assignments.
The new legislation will entitle all workers to receive the same pay and employment conditions as normal staff once they have been employed for more than 12 weeks.
For further information, please contact employment@thomas-carroll.co.uk or give our employment law team a call on 02920 853794.
