Briefing: 2022 – what does it hold for employment law?

05 Jan 2022

In this briefing, Pam Loch rounds up of some of the key employment law changes taking place in 2022 and how they may affect your organisation.

National Minimum Wage rates
The Government has announced the annual increases to National Minimum Wage rates, which will take effect from 6 April 2022. The new hourly rates have been recommended by the Low Pay Commission and mean that the National Living Wage, payable for those over 23, will rise by 6.6% from £8.91 to £9.50.

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday
The Government has announced an additional bank holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Friday 3 June 2022. Employees do not have the right to paid time off on public holidays and whether your employees get a paid day off will depend on the wording in their contracts of employment. As employees may be expecting the additional day off, employers should review their contracts and communicate the position to employees. If the contract does not automatically allow the additional day off, the employer may decide to offer the bank holiday paid but it is entirely up to the business.

Right-to-work checks
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Home Office has allowed employers to carry out right-to-work checks using video calls to job applicants and scanned copies of identity documents. These temporary adjustments to right-to-work checks have been extended until 5 April 2022.

Employment Bill
The Queen’s speech in 2019 announced that the Government is planning a new Employment Bill to include key reforms to employment law. This has been delayed due to the impact of the pandemic and whilst there is no guarantee it will appear in 2022, we may finally see the new Employment Bill, which is expected to include these initiatives:

A new right for carers to take one week of unpaid leave per year, which will be an entitlement from the first day of employment and is designed to help carers to carry out their caring responsibilities.
The introduction of new rules on tips and gratuities to ensure they are paid to staff in full. Employers would need to distribute tips in a fair and transparent way, have a written policy on tips and record how tips are dealt with.
An extension of the right to be offered available suitable alternative employment on redundancy in priority to others for pregnant employees and those within six months of returning from maternity leave. Similar protection will also apply to parents returning from adoption or shared parental leave.
The right for all workers with variable hours to request a more stable and predictable contract after 26 weeks’ service. It is possible the Employment Bill will go a little further and introduce new rights for workers to be given reasonable notice of their working hours and to be compensated when their shifts are cancelled without reasonable notice.
The Government has just completed a consultation on reforming the right for employees to request flexible working. The consultation considered making changes to the admin process around requests, if the eight reasons for rejecting a flexible working request are still valid and making the right to request flexible working a ‘day one right’ by removing the 26 weeks’ service requirement before employees can make the request. It also remains possible, but unlikely, that the Government may decide to make flexible working the default position. We shall see what 2022 brings.

Pam Loch is an Employment Solicitor and Managing Director at Loch Employment Law.