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6 April 2020: The Good Work Plan comes into effect

August 27, 2019
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The Good Work Plan comes into force on 6 April 2020, and has been dubbed the “biggest overhaul of employment law in 20 years.” The Plan has come about as a result of the independent review conducted by Matthew Taylor.

Croner’s summary

Although some elements of the plan are still pending further clarity, Croner – our trusted HR partner – explain the areas that businesses can begin to prepare for now. If you are an EDA member (wholesaler) you have all-inclusive access to the Croner telephone advice line. For further advice on The Good Work Plan, or wider HR matters, call their dedicated member support helpline on 0844 561 8133. All you’ll need is the EDA scheme number. For a reminder of the EDA scheme number please call 020 3141 7350.

  1. From April 2020, all workers will be entitled to receive a document that sets out all of the key terms of their contract. This document must be given from day one of their contract. Currently employers only need to provide key terms of employee’s contract within two months.
  2. All workers have the right to request a ‘more stable’ contract. Workers will have this right after 26 weeks’ service. You should be prepared to introduce a system for processing these requests, which can be similar to how flexible working requests are currently handled. Remember that whilst you can refuse this, you will need to provide sound business reasons for doing so. Also, like flexible working, it looks like there will be a three-month time frame with which to deal with the request.
  3. The break in continuous service will increase. Currently, a gap of just one week can break an individual’s continuity of service. This can restrict their access to key rights of employment, and can occur despite the employee working regularly on and off for the same employer. Therefore, as of April 2020, the gap will increase to four weeks, making it easier for those employees who work sporadically to qualify for more employment rights. You should review current processes and liaise with HR and payroll to ensure they are aware of this and are not unlawfully denying rights to workers. Also re-evaluate current processes in light of this to avoid falling into traps – you may end up having to provide rights and entitlements when you don’t intend to because of previous allowances when taking on casual workers.
  4. There will also be further protections for agency workers. They will have the right to be provided with Key Facts pertaining to the type of contract they are accepting, as well as their rate of pay, who is responsible for paying it, and any deductions or fees that might be taken.

Sign up for Croner’s free webinars this September

Choose sessions on these topics and register your place here:

  1. Contracts of Employment – the basics. Wednesday 4 and Thursday 11 September 2019
  2. Demystifying Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 September 2019
  3. Family friendly entitlements, including shared parental leave. Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 September 2019
  4. Lone Working. Friday 27 September 2019

 

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