While 2013 was a big year for employment law changes, more are to come next year, and firms across the country must ensure that they are fully aware of all of their legal obligations.
TUPE changes will be rolled out next year related to activities carried out following a service provision change, which must be “fundamentally or essentially the same” as those carried out before, if TUPE is to apply. The transferor employer will be obliged to provide employee liability information to the transferee employer at least 28 days before the transfer, an increase from the current 14 days.
Employers will also be given a little more flexibility to vary terms and conditions after a TUPE transfer following the changes next year. Amendments will be made to an ETO reason to include an alteration in the location of the workforce, which is intended to remove the anomaly whereby a redundancy “can be fair if there is a change to the location of the workforce, but dismissal under TUPE for this reason is unfair,” HR Magazine confirmed.
A consultation by the transferee carried out before the transfer will also count towards the statutory redundancy consultation period for redundancies following a transfer, under the new changes.
The proposal to abolish TUPE’s service provision change limb has been rejected after a consultation on the matter found that many were concerned that it would lead to uncertainty over TUPE application on service changeovers.
Other changes that will be implemented over the course of 2014 include the abolition of discrimination questionnaires, which were often seen to have failed in their original goal to allow employees to obtain information to see whether they did indeed have grounds to make a claim. Instead, it was felt that the questionnaires were used by staff members to put pressure onto employers.
Firms will also see ‘mandatory conciliation’ introduced through employment dispute resolution organisation Acas. From 2014, claimants will be obliged to provide details of a dispute to Acas prior to making an employment tribunal claim.
There will also be a change to flexible working in that all staff that have carried out 26 weeks service are to be given the right to request flexible working. That right is currently limited to parents or carers who have done 26 weeks worth of service.