Employment Law: The Good Work Plan

Friday 3 April 2020

Following the 53 recommendations set out in the 2018 Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, the government put together the Good Working Report.

Some elements of the report, such as the changes to payslips and the increase in penalties awarded in the Employment Tribunal, have already come into force. However, the majority of changes will come into force on 6 April 2020.

The changes are described by some as the biggest overhaul in employment law in 20 years. But what are the changes? In this blog we consider some of the bigger changes which will come into force next week.

Holiday pay reference periods

Currently where a worker has variable pay or hours, their holiday pay is calculated using an average from the last 12 weeks in which they worked. Under the Good Work Plan, this reference period will increase to 52 weeks.

If the worker has not been employed for long enough to build up 52 weeks’ worth of data, the employer should use however many complete weeks of data they have. The change is designed to even out the seasonal variation pay of many casual workers.

The right to a written statement of the main terms and conditions of employment

Currently, employers are required within two months of them starting work to issue all new employees with a written statement of the main terms and conditions of employment – often described as a contract of employment or Section 1 Statement.

From 6 April, all employees – and workers – are entitled to those written particulars from day one. Under the Good Work Plan the statement must include:

• The hours and days of the week the worker/employee is required to work
• How long the job is expected to last (fin the case of fixed term contracts)
• Details of any probationary period
• Details of remuneration – how much an employee is paid and when
• Entitlement to any paid leave
• Any other benefits not covered elsewhere in the written statement
• Details of any training provided by the employer

Increased Protection for Agency Workers

Currently, agency workers are entitled to be paid the same rates as permanent employees after 12 weeks, unless they are working under specific contractual arrangements under which they receive a minimum level of pay when they are between assignments (this is known as the ‘Swedish derogation’ model).

From April 2020, this distinction will be abolished and the right to comparable pay will apply, regardless, to all agency workers after 12 weeks. The Government has also introduced an obligation to provide agency workers with a ‘key facts’ page providing basic information about their contract, pay rates and pay arrangements.

Parental Bereavement leave and pay

The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 will give all employed parents the right to 2 weeks’ leave either in one two weeks block or two separate blocks if they lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The leave must be taken before the end of a period of at least 56 days beginning with the date of the child’s death. Parents will also be able to claim pay for this period, subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria.

Changes coming into effect with no set implementation date

The Government has announced other changes as part of the Good Work Plan. At the moment there is no implementation date for the following changes:

• The right to request a more predictable and stable contract
• An increase, from 1 week to 4 weeks, in the length of a break in employment which will destroy continuity
• Stricter enforcement of statutory holiday pay

If you have any questions about the Good Work Plan, please email or call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.