Employment Update: News in Brief | Winter 2024/2025

Tribunal now has the power to uplift or reduce protective award for failure to follow code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement

The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amendment of Schedule A2) Order 2024 came into force on 20 January 2025.

The effect of the order is that, if a successful claim is brought under section 189 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 for a protective award for failure to inform and consult on collective redundancies in a ‘fire and re-hire’ situation, an employment tribunal can increase or reduce the award by up to 25% if a party has unreasonably failed to comply with the statutory code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement or another applicable code of practice.

Neonatal leave and care

The government has announced that, subject to parliamentary approval of regulations (found here and here), the right to statutory neonatal care leave (SNCL) and statutory neonatal care pay (SNCP) will come into force on 6 April 2025.

Eligible employees will be entitled to up to 12 weeks’ SNCL, with no minimum qualifying service requirement. Eligible employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service at the relevant date will also be entitled to SNCP, paid at the same rate as statutory paternity pay.

Neonatal care will qualify for SNCL and SNCP if the child begins care before they are 28 days old and the care lasts for at least seven days. SNCL must be taken within 68 weeks of the child’s birth and may be added on to the end of another period of statutory leave, such as maternity leave. Employees taking SNCL will be entitled to the same protections as other employees taking statutory family-related leave, including the right to return to the same or another suitable role, protection from redundancy during and for a period after taking SNCL, as well as protection from detriment and unfair dismissal.

Women and Equalities Committee recommends parental bereavement leave should cover pre-24-week loss

The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has published a report recommending that the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) be amended to extend parental bereavement leave and pay to employees who suffer pregnancy loss before 24 weeks

The WEC recommends that this should include miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, IVF embryo transfer loss, and terminations for medical reasons. They also recommend that the government should work with organisations including the CIPD, Acas and the TUC to promote the benefits of generous and flexible pre-24-week pregnancy loss leave policies, and strengthen guidance to ensure that, where these policies are in place, employees are aware of them.

The report contains suggested amendments to the ERB, which the WEC intends to table at the report stage. The government has not yet indicated whether the amendments will be supported.

Online submission of employment tribunal responses

A new Practice Direction, which will require employment tribunal claims and responses to be presented either online, by post or in person (and will remove email as a method of presentation of responses, other than in exceptional circumstances), is currently awaited. It was originally expected to be published on 1 October 2024, and then on 6 January 2025.

A Presidential Practice Direction on the presentation of claims and responses, which will address the ways in which a claim and a response may be presented to the employment tribunals, is now expected to be promulgated in February 2025. It will not come into force for a period of about five weeks after promulgation.

Joint committee on human rights launches inquiry into forced labour in supply chains

On 21 January 2025, the House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights (the Committee) launched a ‘call for evidence’ into forced labour in global supply chains.

The UK’s response to labour exploitation in international supply chains is largely governed by the Modern Slavery Act 2015. However, in October 2024, the UK Parliament’s Modern Slavery Act Committee concluded that the UK’s response to modern slavery “has not kept up with the advances of other nations”. This new inquiry is part of the government’s promised next step to review the legislative and non-legislative measures to tackle forced labour and increase transparency in global supply chains.

Employment Rights Bill update

The Employment Rights Bill, which proposes wholesale change to employment law, completed its Committee Stage in the House of Commons on 16 January 2025. The Committee considered more than 200 amendments, most of which were put forward by the government. All government amendments were approved by the Committee, including amendments that would increase the limitation period for employment tribunal claims to six months and an amendment to the circumstances around an employer’s duty to make a guaranteed hours offer and the requirements for withdrawing such offers.

An amended bill has been published and will now progress to its Report Stage, where further amendments may be considered, and third reading. No dates have yet been set for those stages.

Neurodiversity at work

Acas has published new advice on neurodiversity to help employers create inclusive organisations and raise awareness at work.

The advice has information about:

• Various different types of neurodiversity and their common traits.
• How the Equality Act 2010 applies to neurodiverse employees.
• How to support people, raise awareness and approach it sensitively at work.

Separately, the Department for Work and Pensions has launched a new expert panel with the aim of creating more inclusive workplaces and increasing job prospects for neurodivergent people. The panel will advise the government on strategies to support neurodiverse individuals in the workforce, with their recommendations expected this summer.