UK Employment Laws undergoing maintenance… again

Thursday February 2, 2017

UK employment laws, just like our roads, are under a constant process of maintenance (or as some might reasonably argue, disruption).

And after the Queen’s Speech today – with legislation announced on immigration, trade union rights and full employment – we expect more disruption ahead. But for now we’d like to bring a big change on zero-hours contracts to your attention.

Zero-hour contracts were a hot topic during general election campaigning. When used properly they can provide employers and employees with a great deal of flexibility. They have, however, in some cases been used exploitatively by UK employers preventing employees working elsewhere at the same time. To attempt to deal with this the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill introduced last year announced a blanket ban, which came into force yesterday (26th May), on all exclusivity clauses in zero-hour contracts.

What does this mean? Essentially, employers can no longer prevent employees from seeking additional external employment whilst under a zero-hour contract with them. This gives employees a chance to boost their incomes by presenting them with greater opportunities for work. Give your local HR Dept office a call if you’d like to discuss how this works further.

Employment law is constantly changing and we understand the difficulties small businesses face in staying on top of this whilst growing their business. We urge you to sign up to our monthly newsletter below to ensure you’re ready for any employment law updates ahead of time, and are equipped with some great tips on managing a productive and happy workforce!

Preventing People Problems

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter

Office Address: The HR Dept Bradford, Hub 101, Hub26, Scandinavia Mills, Hunsworth Lane, Bradford, BD19 4LN | VAT Number: 458501289 | Registration Number: 15441390

Copyright © 2007 - 2019 The HR Dept Ltd. HR DEPT is a registered trademark belonging to The HR Dept Limited.