In addition to the below, you may be interested in Gravitate’s latest update on the Employment Rights Bill – available at: https://gravitatehr.co.uk/what-the-employment-rights-bill-means-for-employers/ In addition to the below, you may be interested in Gravitate’s latest update on the Employment Rights Bill – available at: https://gravitatehr.co.uk/what-the-employment-rights-bill-means-for-employers/
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At Gravitate HR we are approaching our 20 year anniversary which we will officially reach in July 2025 – that’s a milestone! As we head into our 20th year, we are looking forward to working with our clients both old and new, helping you through any challenges and providing support to you in the year ahead. Employment Law is ever changing and so we also start the year looking at what’s new that might affect you in 2025.
Here are some key changes you should be ready for:
Dismissal and Re-engagement With effect from 20 January 2025, employers who are considering changing employees’ terms by dismissal and re-engagement affecting 20 or more employees need to ensure they follow the Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement. Where an employer has failed to follow the requirements for collective consultation this can lead to a protective award of up to 90 days pay for all affected workers, however employers who have also failed to comply with the Code of Practice may be faced with an additional uplift of 25% by an employment tribunal.
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 is anticipated to be in effect from April 2025. Employees will be entitled to up to 12 weeks of Neonatal Care Leave (NCL) to care for a baby hospitalised within the first 28 days of birth. This leave is in addition to existing maternity, paternity, or shared parental leave entitlements.
The Paternity (Bereavement) Act 2024 is expected to come into force in April 2025, although regulations are awaited before handbooks can be updated to include this right. This new legislation will give fathers or non-birthing partners access to paternity leave in cases where a mother, or a person with whom a child is placed or expected to be placed for adoption, dies. The leave is likely to operate in a way similar to maternity leave, and last for up to 52 weeks.
Separate to the Employment Rights Bill, the government has proposed to introduce an Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which will include extending equal pay rights to protect workers suffering discrimination on the basis of race or disability. The new legislation will also extend pay gap reporting to ethnicity and disability for employers with more than 250 staff and measures on equal pay. There is no indication when this will be in effect but we will keep you posted.
April 2025 new statutory rates will come into force, including:
• National Living Wage for over 21’s increases to £12.21
• National Minimum Wage for 18–20-year-olds increases to £10
• National Minimum Wage for 16–17-year- olds and Apprentice Rate increases to £7.55
• Statutory Sick Pay increase to £118.75 per week
• Statutory Maternity Pay and other family related leave pay increases to £187.18 per week
• Lower Earnings Limit increases to £125 per week
May 2025
Whilst not a legislative change, employers signed up to pay the Real Living Wage must increase pay to £12.60 in UK and £13.85 in London by 1 May if they wish to retain their accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation.
The Employment Rights Bill 2024 is still making its way through committee stage and may yet take some time before we see the “biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation” according to the Labour government. We’ll keep you posted with any updates though most of the changes are unlikely to come into force before 2026.
If you think you need support with any of these issues, why not book a call or contact us on 0141 459 7458 to see how we can help.
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