2022 was a turbulent year for many organisations. The Covid-19 pandemic continued to challenge employers as they grappled with changes to the testing and self-isolation requirements as well the shifting trend towards hybrid working. On top of that, there was political and economic uncertainty to deal with as well as a shortage of labour, making recruitment and retention difficult.
In 2023, the role of the workplace is likely to continue to evolve more quickly than ever before and continue to present challenges to employers. In this update, we look at some of the biggest employment law changes your business can expect in 2023 as well as some of the workforce trends that we expect to see dominate the workplace in the coming year.
Flexible Working Practices
Despite the recession, talent competition is at an all-time high so companies will have to continue to embrace a flexible approach to work practices in order to recruit and retain the top talent. A study by Remote, which surveyed 10,000 individuals in the UK and France, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA, revealed that 74% of employees considered flexible work hours the most significant benefit when considering a job change. Flexible working arrangements will therefore continue to become more commonplace in 2023.
In addition, the government also announced on 5th December that it would support a Private Members’ Bill, which would make changes to the current right to request flexible working, which includes allowing an employee to make two requests in a year and requiring employers to consult with employees before refusing a request. Further details are available here.
Four-Day Working Week
The four-day week has been one of the most important trends in the future of work in 2022 and will continue to gain momentum in 2023 following a successful UK trial which ran from June to December 2022 with seventy companies and over 3,000 employees signing up for it. The trial involved employees working 80% of their contractual hours for 100% pay with the expectation of achieving 100% productivity. With a competitive job market and at a time when increased financial incentives are not feasible for many companies, this trend may be the answer for employers looking for creative ways to attract and retain the best people in their businesses.
Employee Rights
There is a flurry of Private Members’ Bills with government backing currently passing through parliament which, if passed into law, will result in enhanced employee rights. These include new rights to leave and pay for employees with responsibility for children receiving neonatal care, unpaid leave for carers, protection from redundancy for pregnant women and new parents, and a fairer allocation of tips for restaurant staff. The government has also committed to a duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. These changes are expected to be implemented in early 2023 although no timescale has been announced.
Post-Brexit Reform
Another Bill that could become law in 2023 is the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, also known as the ‘Brexit Freedom Bill’. The purpose of this Bill is to expedite the removal of certain retained EU laws by giving ministers powers to abolish or replace them. Notably, it currently contains a sunset clause, which means that at the end of 2023, many retained EU laws will cease to exist unless they are restated or replaced. This is probably one of the most significant developments on the horizon and could affect a number of EU-derived secondary legislation in relation to employment law, such as working time and paid holiday rights, TUPE, fixed term employees, agency workers and maternity and paternity leave.
Radical change to the above workers’ rights would be unpopular and therefore is unlikely, but we may see consultations and proposals from the government for creating new UK laws to replace and potentially scale back existing EU-derived versions.
We will keep you updated with developments as they arise but for the time being, the Bill results in a period of uncertainty in 2023 for both employers and workers.
Fire and Rehire
Following much criticism of the fire and rehire practices undertaken by large companies such as Tesco over the last few years, the government announced in March last year that it will publish a new statutory code of practice on fire and rehire ‘when parliamentary time allows’. The code did not materialise in 2022 but is expected in early 2023. It will not prevent the practice of fire and rehire but tribunals and courts will need to take the code into account when deciding relevant cases and they will also have the power to increase an employee’s compensation by up to 25% when an employer unreasonably fails to follow the code.
As it stands, 2023 is shaping up to be a busy year for employers. We will continue to provide updates on legal developments throughout the year but for more information on any of the above topics, please contact a member of the Witan team or email us.
