Employment Law Changes In 2017

Hot Employment Law Changes In 2017

• Brexit, with all its resulting uncertainty, will continue to dominate the employment law landscape. In the New Year, we can expect the Supreme Court’s judgment on whether an Act of Parliament is needed to trigger Article 50 and begin the Brexit process. The Prime Minister has announced that, if permitted, the government would trigger Article 50 before the end of March 2017.
• Gender pay gap reporting, one of the key developments of the year, is due in April. Although the first gender pay gap reports for large private and voluntary sector employers will not be due until 4 April 2018, employers will need to capture their first set of gender pay gap data in April 2017.
• The gig economy will continue to be a hot topic as we await the results of three government and independent reviews of the changing nature of the workplace.
• Tribunal fees continue to rumble on with the government’s post-implementation review of tribunal fees awaiting publication.
• Regulatory references in the financial sector will undergo significant change in the spring with the introduction of the FCA and PRA final rules on regulatory references. The new regime aims to increase transparency in the requesting and giving of references.

Is 2017 the year?

Could 2017 be the year we see the following developments that were expected in 2016 but failed to materialise?

• Public sector exit payments clawback and cap were both planned for, but delayed, in 2016 and the government has not yet announced firm implementation dates for either.
• The ban on corporate directors was expected in October 2016, but nothing further has been heard on its implementation date.
• The Trade Union Act 2016 will introduce, among other measures, significant changes to the balloting rules for industrial action. Implementation dates are still awaited, although the 40% ballot threshold for important public services appears to be anticipated for March 2017.

Beyond 2017

There are a number of employment law developments in the longer-term view:

• The EU General Data Protection Regulation is not due to be implemented until 25 May 2018. However, employers that need to make substantial changes to their existing processes will need to consider what preparatory steps will be necessary in 2017.
• Grandparental leave is expected to be introduced in 2018. The consultation on how to extend Shared Parental Leave and Pay to working grandparents was initially planned for May 2016, but was delayed until after the EU referendum. The government is yet to announce further dates.
• The simplification of the tax and NICs treatment of termination payments is expected in 2018. The exemption from income tax and NICs for termination payments up to the current threshold of £30,000 remains and employer NICs will be payable on payments above £30,000.

Please contact us to discuss how our Employment Law team can help you with your Employment Law needs.