Here's the countdown to new workers' rights brought to you by courtesy of the swingingly entitled Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Leave ) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1378) and the Employment Rights (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 (which await being signed off).
06 April 2019 The maximum penalty for aggravated breach of a worker's employment rights under s12A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1966 will generally increase from £5,000 to £20,000.
06 April 2020 One year plus to go so be patient. Workers engaged on or after this date will be entitled to a statement of the particulars of their work even though they are not employees. There will be no minimum qualifying period of work in order to be entitled to be given the statement. The current qualifying period for employees is one month. The statement containing the principal work conditions will have to be provided at the commencement of work. The remainder can be given in instalments but within two months of commencement of work. Added to the particulars currently needed will be the days of the week to be worked, whether the are variable and, if so, how the variations are to be decided and any probationary period which is to be suffered with its conditions and duration. There are special provisions relating to workers who are already in post before 06 April 2020. And the reference period for calculating holiday pay will increase from 12 to 52 weeks. This will knock out the trick of clocking up as much overtime as possible during the current 12 weeks which are taken to calculate earnings and thereby increasing holiday pay and causing considerable resentment among workmates.
