9 April 2020
The Good Work Plan: Changes to Employment Law
6 April saw an extensive programme of employment law reforms come into force. Known as the Good Work Plan, the changes affect almost every business in the UK and are particularly important for the construction sector due to the number of contractors and self-employed individuals.
A key focus of the Good Work Plan is addressing the rights of those working without employee status or fixed hours, who occupy a middle ground in employment law between employees and the self-employed. By introducing state enforcement of workers’ rights under such flexible arrangements, the reforms seek to give greater protections to workers, particularly around issues of holiday entitlement and pay.
Changes that took effect on 6 April 2020 include:
- Extension of the right to a written statement of particulars to workers, as well as employees.
- Removal of the requirement for a worker to perform one month’s service before being entitled to a statement of particulars.
- Requirement for employers to provide a statement of particulars on or before the worker’s first day of employment.
- Increase in the period over which holiday pay is calculated.
- Increased protections for agency workers.
Alongside this, changes agreed without a specified implementation date include:
- Increase in the ‘break of service’ period.
- Right to request a ‘stable’ contract.
Build UK partner Citation has prepared an accessible table which outlines what employees, workers and the self-employed are legally entitled to. To download this at-a-glance comparison, simply visit this link.
The Government is engaged in ongoing consultations which may result in further legislation at a future date. If you have further questions or need support in the meantime, you can call Citation directly via 0345 844 1111, or get in touch here and mention that you’re enquiring through Build UK.