How Has Employment Law Changed in the Past 10 Years?

There have been many changes to employment law that could impact your businesses. In this article, we’ll cover the past 19 years of changes.

Employment law and legislation updates are not uncommon, so if you’re looking for employment law advice for employees, this blog post might help point you in the right direction.

There are many notable employment law changes, in this article we’ve highlighted the most prominent changes over the last 10 years, starting with 2014 changes. Read on to find out…

1. 2014 Employment Law Changes

The most notable employment law change that occurred in 2014, was the deduction from wages (limitation) regulation. This change meant that claimants who were seeking recovery from deductions in wages were limited to a maximum of 2 years to make a claim. 

In addition to this change, there were changes to shared parental leave regulations which meant that eligible mothers, fathers, partners and adopters could choose how to share time off work after their child is born or placed for adoption.

2. 2015 Employment Law Changes

Modern Slavery Act 2015

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 was introduced in 2015 which consolidated multiple offences relating to slavery and trafficking.

3. 2016 Employment Law Changes

The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2016 

Were introduced in 2016 and the National Living Wage was introduced. National Living Wage employers therefore had to increase their salaries (if not already in line) or lose their accreditation.

4. 2017 Employment Law Changes

Equality Act Regulations 2017

A big change in 2017, which benefitted many employees, was the Equality Act Regulations 2017. This law changed meant that employers with 250 employees or more in private companies and voluntary sector organisations were required to disclose their gender pay gap and related information.

Finance Act 2017

In 2017, the Finance Act changed the rules on off payroll working (IR35) in the public sector. It meant that public authorities were made responsible for determining the status of a contractor they are engaging.

5. 2018 Employment Law Changes

GDPR and Data Protection Act

The GDPR and Data Protection Act changes in 2018 really had businesses scrambling with giving internal training. GDPR intended to provide individuals with more control over their personal data, and not following individuals wishes could land your businesses in some hot water.

Employments Rights Regulations 2018

The Employment Rights Regulations 2018 increased the maximum penalty for aggravated breach of employment law from £5,000 to £20,000, which could be a big blow to businesses.

6. 2019 Employment Law Changes

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2019

This amendment to the act, meant that work agencies (such as recruitment companies) had to provide key information to agency workers detailing important information. Details included who will pay them, how they will be paid and what type of contract they are employed on. 

If you’re completing temporary work and haven’t been provided with one of these, you can find out more about support and information that’s available here. 

The National Insurance Contributions (Termination Awards and Sporting Testimonials) Act 2019 

This act required all termination payments above the £30,000 threshold to be subject to employer national insurance contributions.

7. 2020 Employment Law Changes

The Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2020 

This act was introduced so that tribunal and early conciliation procedures could reduce bureaucracy and increase the tribunal’s capacity to deal with claims.

8. 2021 Employment Law Changes

Immigration Law 

At the start of 2021 a new immigration law in force that affects workers. The new immigration system applies equally to EU and non-EU citizens.

Gender Pay Gap Amendments 

Amendments to the Gender Pay Gap Reports in March specified that public authorities with 250 or more employees, are required to publish their gender pay gap reports annually by this date, based on data gathered on 31 March each year.

National Living Wage Increase

In April 2021 the National Living Wage rose to £8.91 an hour. Statutory pay rises, maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental pay rises also happened in 2021.

Health and Safety Protection 

In May 2021, the health and safety protection extended to workers came into play. From this date, workers will gain the right not to be subjected to detrimental treatment for leaving or refusing to return to work if they believe themselves to be in ‘serious and imminent danger’. 

Education on Women’s Health Issues 

The new menopause taskforce was introduced in 2021.The taskforce will consider how education and training, workplace policies, and peer groups could improve support for women experiencing adverse menopausal health issues.

9. 2022 Employment Law Changes

Identification Validation Checks 

As a result of the pandemic, in March 2020, the rules requiring employers to conduct right-to-work checks in person were temporarily lifted. Employers were able to carry out right-to-work checks via video and using scanned documentation as opposed to originals. 

It’s important to remember that these adjustments ended on 30 September 2022. As of 1 October 2022, employers now need to carry out another form of identification validation such as a Home Office online right-to-work check

National Living Wage Further Increase

As of 1 April 2022, the national living wage increased from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour. This applies to employees aged 23 and over. The Statutory Sick Pay also increased to £99.35 per week, from 6 April 2022.

What’s to come?

There are various proposed Employment Law Changes that might be coming in 2022 in areas involving:

• Flexible working
• Carer’s Leave
• Neonatal Leave
• Extended redundancy protection
• Changes to sexual harassment laws to introduce a duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment, and an extension on the time limit for bringing a claim
• New rules requiring organisations to publish their modern slavery statements on the government registry
• Changes to the rules on confidentiality agreements to ensure they can’t be used to prevent workers from speaking to the police about criminal matters

Changes to Employment Law in the Past 10 Years?

As this blog post shows, there have been a whole host to changes in employment law in the past 10 years. And there are lots of changes which might be implemented in the near future. Hopefully this blog has given you an overview of the changes that have occurred over the past 10 years. 

Do you know of any other employment law changes? Let us know in the comments below.