Monthly Bulletin – October 2024 – Practical Perspectives

Monthly Bulletin – October 2024 – Practical Perspectives

5 things you should know about part-time workers

According to the UK Parliament’s UK labour market statistics, over 8 million people are currently employed on a part-time basis. Part-time workers in the UK have protection from discrimination in the form of the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. Here are 5 things you should know about this legal protection:

• Equal Treatment: Part-time workers must receive the same treatment as full-time workers, including pay rates, benefits, and leave entitlements, unless there is a justified reason for the difference.
• Pro Rata Basis: Benefits such as holiday entitlement and pensions should be calculated on a pro rata basis, meaning part-time workers should receive a proportionate amount compared to full-time workers.
• Right to Request Full-Time Work: Part-time workers have the right to request a move to full-time work if a suitable position becomes available.
• Protection from Discrimination: It is illegal to treat part-time workers less favourably solely because of their part-time status, ensuring they are protected from unfair treatment and discrimination.
• Access to Training and Promotion: Part-time workers should have the same access to training opportunities and career progression as full-time workers.

Statistically speaking, women and those with disabilities are more likely to work part-time than other people. Employers should bear in mind the separate and distinct risk of sex or disability discrimination claims in circumstances where part-time workers are treated less favourably than their full-time colleagues.

Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 shelved

It has been confirmed that the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 will not be brought into force this autumn, as originally expected. The Act gave workers with uncertain hours the right to request predictability about their working days and times, the number of hours worked, and the length of their contract. The Act received Royal Assent in September 2023 and Acas had published a draft Code of Practice on handling requests made under it. This now all looks to have been shelved.

However, the idea itself is likely to live on. A spokesperson for the Department of Business and Trade gave the following statement to Practical Law: 

“We will introduce a new right to a contract that reflects the number of hours regularly worked as part of our significant and ambitious agenda to ensure workplace rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and deliver economic growth.” 

This statement is in-line with the briefing note which accompanied the King’s Speech in July, where proposed legislation “banning exploitative zero-hours contracts” was linked to “ensuring workers have a right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work”. 

It appears that, rather than muddy the waters by having two separate legal mechanisms for requesting predictability, the government has decided to scrap the one it inherited and move forward with new legislation, which may well form part of its forthcoming Employment Rights Bill.

Policy paper setting out what to expect from Low Pay Commission on national minimum/living wage from next year

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has published a Policy Paper setting out how it will respond to its updated remit from the government. The LPC is an independent body that advises the government on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) each year. 

Following July’s general election, the LPC’s remit has been updated to require it to take account of the cost of living and expected inflation up to March 2026, and to not fall below two-thirds of median hourly earnings when setting recommendations for NMW/NLW. Given that wages are currently rising faster than inflation, the two-thirds of median hourly earnings currently forms the ‘floor’ for the LPC’s recommendations.

To assess the cost of living, the LPC states that it will use a broad range of metrics and evidence, including headline measures of inflation, the ONS Household Cost Index (HCI) and other qualitative measures of living standards. 

Points to take from the Policy Paper which may assist employers with what might be coming up in terms of the level of NMW/NLW from April next year include:

• An expectation that there will be a larger increase to the 18-20 year old rate, than to the 21 and above rate. This is to bring the two rates closer together and work towards the government’s aim of abolishing the 18-20 year old rate in due course. 
• The LPC’s current central estimate is that an NLW increase to £12.10 (5.8 per cent) would be required to maintain the ratio of the NLW to median hourly pay at two thirds of median earnings. However, this figure is likely to be subject to change (it has already increased from an estimate of £11.89 back in March).

The LPC is due to submit its recommendations to government by the end of October 2024.