New Leave and Pay for Parents of Babies Requiring Neonatal Care
New Legislation Enacted
By Natasha Somi
The Neonatal Leave (Leave and Pay) Act is set to go into effect in April 2025. The Act will introduce up to 12 weeks of paid leave for parents of babies who require medical or palliative neonatal care for a minimum of seven consecutive days within the first 28 days after birth. The leave must be taken within the first 68 weeks of the baby’s birth. The rate of statutory neonatal care pay, which must be paid by the employer, has not yet been set.
The right to receive statutory neonatal care pay will require 26 weeks of service and average earnings of at least £123 per week, mirroring the requirements for statutory maternity leave pay. This new leave will be in addition to other statutory leave entitlements, such as maternity and paternity leave.
Review the law at parliament.uk/bills
No Requirement for General Workforce Consultation in All Redundancy Situations
Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency
By Alexandra Charlton-Jones
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that, where collective consultation obligations are not otherwise triggered, there is no requirement for non-unionized employers to conduct “general workforce consultation” in small-scale reductions in force (i.e., typically fewer than 19 people) for such dismissals to be deemed fair. The Court rejected the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s ruling that “general workforce consultation” is a requirement when undertaking small-scale reductions in force.
The Court saw no justification for departing from the well-established principle that the adequacy of consultation should be considered on a case-by-case basis. In non-unionized workplaces, the appropriateness of any group meetings will depend on the circumstances. Accordingly, the Court restored the legal principal that only when statutory collective consultation is triggered will group consultation be required.
Referee Contracts Met Minimum Requirements for Contracts of Employment
Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency
By Darcey Phillips
The Supreme Court considered whether the engagement terms for part-time football (soccer) referees could be classified as contracts of employment for tax purposes. The Court found that even though either party could, in theory, cancel the contract after a referee agreed to officiate a game, there was sufficient mutuality of obligation and control for the contract to potentially be a contract of employment for tax purposes. The case was sent back to a lower tax tribunal to decide if, on the facts, there was an employment contract. This ruling helps clarify that control and mutuality of obligation are prerequisites for an employment contract. However, the cumulative effect of all the contractual provisions and all the circumstances must also be addressed to decide if there is an employment contract.
Review the decision at supremecourt.uk/cases
Proposed Sweeping Changes to UK Employment Rights
Proposed Bill or Initiative
By Dilshen Dahanayake
The Employment Rights Bill introduced to the UK parliament in October 2024 is expected to pass in the first half of 2025. The Bill is one of the major reforms promised by the new Labor government and, if passed, would make sweeping changes to UK employment law. These changes include, among other things:
- Making several key rights available from the first day employment, such as protection from unfair dismissal. Notably, probationary periods of potentially up to nine months will be permitted during which dismissal will be simpler. Other rights include statutory sick pay, paternity leave, and unpaid parental leave.
- Putting limits on the use of zero hour contracts and “fire and rehire” practices.
- Bolstering the current right to request flexible working by making it more difficult for employers to refuse a request, with a view to making flexible working the default where practicable.
- Reintroducing employer liability for harassment of employees by third parties, such as clients or customers.
- Creating new rights regarding trade unions and union membership, including new rights of access for unions to workplaces and making union recognition and industrial action easier.
- The UK government anticipates that the majority of the changes will take effect no earlier than 2026, with changes to unfair dismissal no sooner than Fall 2026. Some simpler changes, such as those to statutory sick pay and paternity leave, may come into effect in 2025.
New Draft Legislation Proposing to Reform UK Data Protection Law
Proposed Bill or Initiative
By Deborah Margolis
On October 23, 2024, the Data (Use and Access) Bill was introduced into the House of Lords. The Bill includes a number of proposals which would deviate from the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including:
- Relaxation of the rules on automated decision-making for ordinary personal data, but not for special category data.
- Creation of a data protection test for transfers of personal data outside of the UK.
- A new lawful basis for processing personal data, a “recognized legitimate interest.” It is anticipated that the legislation will be passed in the first half of 2025.
