Work Is Changing: What does this mean for you?
March 11, 2025 11:33 am - Categorised in: Corporate Employment, EFN-News
Cutting through the doom, gloom and uncertainty in employment law in 2025
Take yourself back to 2019. ‘Zoom’ meant moving fast. ‘Jumping on Teams’ might sound like some sort of aggressive football tactic.
Before the pandemic, around 5% of the UK workforce worked mainly from home, by September 2022, 22% worked at least one day from home per week and around 13% worked from home exclusively.
This was a clear shift in the way we work, dramatically altering the work-life balance and employee/employer dynamic for millions of people.
Whether it is the Industrial Revolution, a technological revolution, a recession or a new government, the nature of work and employment is constantly evolving and shifting in line with the demands of the times and political and economic forces.
Like it or not, more changes are coming that will have significant impact on the rights of employees, employers, those who are self-employed and ‘gig economy’ workers.
The Employment Rights Bill
The Employment Rights Bill is set to reform employment law in the UK, as pledged by the Labour government when they came to power last year. This new legislation seeks to enhance protection for workers, with some of the following changes proposed:
- Unfair Dismissal: Employees’ right to not be ‘unfairly dismissed’ to apply on the first day of a new job, rather than after 2 years.
- Pregnancy: Firmer protection from dismissal during and soon after pregnancy.
- Zero-hours and agency workers: Requirement to offer a guaranteed hours contract.
- ‘Fire and Rehire’: Clamping down on employers’ ability to do this and giving employees remedies when faced with an ultimatum on worse contract terms.
- Sick Pay: No qualifying period required for employees to be entitled to statutory sick pay.
Whilst this looks like good news for employees, it is striking fear into the heart of employers up and down the land. This is especially true of small businesses, as in the last quarter of 2024, 33 per cent of small employers said they expect to reduce staff.
However, these headlines do not quite tell the full story.
The proposal for Unfair Dismissal protection to be a ‘day one’ right for employees, is subject to a few caveats. The new legislation will also introduce the concept of an “initial period of employment”. The length of this “initial period” is yet to be confirmed. During this period, it will be easier for an employer to dismiss an employee in relation to issues over conduct, capability or ‘substantial’ reasons that could justify dismissal.
This means that, in practice, an employee in the first few months of their job will still not be protected to quite the same extent from Unfair Dismissal as a longer-serving colleague.
In terms of ‘Fire and Rehire’, there is not going to be a complete prohibition of this practice. Where a business is in severe financial distress, they may still carry out fire and rehire, but they would need to ensure that the comply with the statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement.
Furthermore, there is not a full ‘ban’ on Zero-hours contracts, as it has been described in some quarters. Whilst employers will no longer be able to impose a zero-hours arrangement, employees will still be able to agree to work on a zero-hours basis, should they prefer to do so, rather than having guaranteed hours.
Top Tip for Employers:
Think Before You Hire
Until now, there was less risk in taking a punt on someone and seeing if they turn out to be right for the job. With ‘day-one’ unfair dismissal rights on the horizon, you cannot take as relaxed an approach in hiring. You need to do what you can to be certain about who you are hiring.
Practically this might mean making your application and interview process more thorough. This could include a second (or even a third) interview, or maybe even psychometric tests.
Top Tip for Workers and Employees: Check Your Rights
The law is changing and this applies to you whether or not your employer updates your old contract of employment terms. Employers themselves might not keep up-to-date with the changes in the law.
Do not take it as a given that your employer is correct in their policies and approach to issues such as dismissal, maternity and stable hours for zero-hours or agency workers. They may not realise the new rights that you will have soon.
Rising Redundancy and Lay-offs
In worrying news, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)’s latest survey of employers reveals that employers intend to make more redundancies in the coming months than at any period in the past 10 years (apart from during the pandemic).
Although workers may soon have more rights, sadly this does not mean that employers will be able to afford to keep on all their staff. Those who have long-held steady jobs and those who have just started a new role alike are at increased risk of redundancy.
It can be hard to know where to turn for reliable and practical employment advice. ChatGPT? Your cousin’s friend who did a law degree?
There are lots of answers out there, but are they the right answers?
Whether you are an employee, a worker or an employer, seeking professional legal advice early on can save you stress, uncertainty and potentially a lot of money in the long term.
If you have any queries relating to Employment Law, please contact Dylan Stanway at Dylan.Stanway@ellis-fermor.co.uk 1 Fountain Court, Gordon Road, West Bridgford, NG2 5LN. We provide advice on a range of employment issues, including:
- Settlement Agreements
- Redundancy
- Dismissal
- Conduct at work
- Discrimination
- Company policies
About Dylan Stanway
