Post-election updates: 6 things SMEs should know

17 min read  |   18 July, 2024   By Aimée Brougham-Chandler

The UK's Houses of Parliament are shown across the river Thames in sunshine
    

We know these are turbulent times for small businesses & HR teams. Uncertainty has become the only certainty amidst ongoing changes to employment law, and now, a new government. 

Much has been written about Labour’s proposed changes (we also covered the HR impact in this article) but we wanted to speak to real HR experts – and ask them the questions we collected in a survey from our network of SMEs.  

Breathe’s post-election Q&A on 10th July assembled our expert panel, including our valued Breathe Partners, Emma del Torto of Effective HRM & Juliet Irving of HR Solutions, along with Breathe’s Head of People, Charlie O’Brien.  

The main message our panel shared throughout the Q&A was that HR teams shouldn’t panic – yes, there are changes ahead, but things will look different after the government’s first 100 days in power.  

Read on to discover the key takeaways our expert HR panel had to offer around the questions small businesses & HR individuals put to them (you can watch the Q&A on-demand here).  

We’ve also included the most important things SMEs need to know in terms of employment updates after the King’s Speech.  

 

Skip to:

  1. Employment status updates

  2. Day one rights – unfair dismissal 

  3. Changes to zero-hours contracts

  4. Implications for mental health rights

  5. The right to form a union

  6. How can HR protect themselves from burnout?

 

6 things SMEs should know post-election 

 

1. Employment status updates 

Labour has proposed creating a new, single status of ‘worker’, in combining employee & worker statuses as we currently know them.  

The good news is consultation will be required for legislative changes such as this - and there are no imminent legal updates that we know of just yet.  

We’ll be watching this space to see what happens over the first 100 days in power.  

 

 

2. Day one rights – unfair dismissal 

Making changes to remove the qualifying period of when employees have protection from unfair dismissal (currently set at 2 years) will also require consultation & legal changes to implement, our HR panel advised.  

The government confirmed in the King’s Speech on 17th July that the day one right to protection from unfair dismissal will be brought into law, along with rights to parental leave & sick pay.

Hear our Q&A panel discuss the impact on these day one rights for employers:

 

 

3. What changes will be made to zero-hours contracts? 

Breathe’s Head of People, Charlie O’Brien, clarified that Labour have proposed removing ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts (also confirmed in the King’s Speech), and wish to provide more security to employees and remove the risk to employers that zero-hours contracts can pose.  

But zero-hours contracts have their place and allow flexibility for both employees & employers. Charlie advises SMEs to take this time to look at your recruitment strategies as they currently are. 

 

Emma del Torto of Effective HRM advised in the panel that getting rid of zero-hours contracts was on Blair’s 1997 manifesto too, so this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this – and that many industries such as catering, hospitality etc. benefit hugely from zero-hours contracts, due to the nature of their businesses.  

 

 

4. What are the implications for employees’ mental health rights? 

Will there be any changes to employee’s mental health rights, now there’s a new government? “Workers’ rights impact their mental health, when you think about job security,” noted Emma del Torto during the Q&A panel.  

Juliet Irving, Client Services Manager at HR Solutions, noted during the discussion that removing the ‘waiting days’ before Statutory Sick Pay is payable would have a hugely positive impact for employees suffering with a mental health condition.  

Watch this space for further updates - why not sign up to our mailing list?

 

5. The right to form a union: small business impact 

Some small businesses are concerned around the impact of the potential right to form a union that Labour have inferred in their manifesto. 

Emma del Torto, Managing Director of Effective HRM (and ex-trade union lawyer) provided union advice for small businesses:

 

“There’s going to be lots of consultation & notice around this. There’s talk of a requirement for employers – including charities – to make people aware that they have the right to join a union. We’ll need to have more understanding about what the plans are – the manifesto was particularly vague. Right now, [SMEs] don’t need to do anything… but you have to formally recognise a union. There are processes that are required, and there are talks around changing these processes.” Emma del Torto,  Effective HRM

6. How can HR teams protect themselves from burnout? 

It’s not all just about the legislative changes. We wanted to ask our panel how small business HR teams can look after their own mental health & protect against burnout, in light of more changes to employment law & HR policy on the horizon. 

 

Juliet Irving shares her advice for small business HR teams. “HR has experienced the pandemic and is primed for future changes, having been through the worst. Look after each other and reach out to your HR community for support – share knowledge as we’re all in this together, and try and view it as exciting times.” 

“The unknown can cause uncertainty where the pressure is on HR to advise and know all the detail,” shares Charlie O’Brien. “Burnout isn’t just in the HR profession, it’s everywhere – you could see this is an upskilling exercise for your and your teams. This is the biggest change to [employment law for] a generation, we’re part of history. Make sure to share knowledge & educate yourselves on what’s out there. Look at what other SMEs are doing – some share their policies which can provide inspiration for you to open up those conversations with your team.” 

Breathe’s burnout monitor can help you to identify employees who are at risk of burning out by viewing who hasn’t booked regular time off - and allowing you to nudge them, with a reminder. (Please note that Breathe’s burnout monitor is available on Regular plans & above.) 

 

“Have boundaries in place when it comes to solving people’s problems”, Emma del Torto shares. “Don’t check your emails at ungodly hours, and when you do get asked about someone’s HR problem at a party, respectfully decline – it isn’t necessarily good for us to be ‘on’ all the time and take on other people’s crises. Be a signpost – if you can’t deal with something, signpost to people who can.” 


 

Hear our panel discuss the right to switch off in our Q&A:

 

We’ve covered the right to disconnect and what this means for SMEs. For further resources, check out our blogs around stress and burnout 

 

 

Employment law changes announced in the King’s Speech 2024

The King's Speech on 17th July announced the legal changes the new government are planning. Here are the key things ahead for HR:

  • New Employment Rights Bill: Exploitative zero-hours contracts will be banned, along with ‘fire & rehire’ 

  • Day one rights: parental leave, sick pay & protection from unfair dismissal will be available from day one in the job (rather than after 2 years) 

  • Statutory Sick Pay will be strengthened 

  • The minimum wage will be a ‘genuine living wage’ to tackle the cost of living 

  • Flexible working will be made the default for all workers 

  • Legislation on race equality will be published to provide the right to equal pay [in the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill] 

  • An employer-centric partnership called ‘Skills England’ will be created  

  • The Apprenticeship Levy will be reformed 

These changes won’t happen overnight – but SMEs should be aware of changes ahead and ensure they stay compliant.  

 

How Breathe can help you stay compliant throughout legal changes 

As our panel mentioned in our post-election Q&A, now is a good time to review your HR policies ahead of any formal employment law changes.  

Breathe’s ISO-27001-accredited HR software can help you to store your policies securely within its document management system.  

You can trial Breathe for free for 14 days. 

Aimée

Author: Aimée Brougham-Chandler

An IDM-certified Digital Copywriter (2023) & English Language & Literature graduate (BA Hons), Aimée is Breathe's Content Assistant. With 3 years' content marketing experience, Aimée has a passion for writing - and providing SME HR teams with solutions to their problems. She enjoys delving into & demystifying all things HR: from employee performance to health and wellbeing, leave to company culture & much more.

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