Government unveils new employer guidance as Employment Rights Act comes into force

The government has unveiled a new online guidance hub to help employers prepare for the Employment Rights Act, as a raft of changes to employment law come into force this month.

The free resource will include clear timelines, a summary of key changes and actions to take, plus links to guidelines.

While some elements of the act will come into effect later this month, including simpler requirements for trade unions and making it easier for unions to operate, April marks a shift in working practices.

Hospitality businesses will see changes to working conditions, including statutory sick pay becoming payable from the first day of absence, alongside new day-one rights for parental and paternity leave.

Employment rights minister Kate Dearden said: “Through clear guidance, we are giving businesses the practical support they need to understand these changes and get things right first time.”

She added that the reforms are aimed to improve “security at work”, “boost productivity”, and “strengthen retention and support businesses”.

At The Caterer’s Breakfast Briefing Live in London last November, four industry experts discussed how the legislation is expected to reshape employment practices across hospitality, sharing both their hopes and concerns about what it will mean for the sector.

Speaker Lee Melton, chief people officer at RedCat Hospitality, stressed that the success of implementing the new legislation will “all come down to the training we give [managers]”, and urged operators to get organised with their employee training, handbooks and policies.

Fellow panellist David Sheen, public affairs director at UKHospitality, while acknowledging the practical, logistical and financial impact the new act will have on the sectors, said there are positives to be had: “Hospitality quite often gets dragged through the mud because of the worst employers, and that colours people’s judgment of the sector. If those bad apples can’t continue to be bad apples, then I think that can only be good for our reputation.”

With 35 separate measures being introduced over the next two years, the upcoming Employment Rights Act represents the most significant shift in employment law in a generation.

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