The Good Work Plan 2020
What’s the Good Work Plan 2020 all about? I have summarised the main changes to current legislation that will be coming in from April 6th 2020. There are other elements that aren’t so relevant to my clients which I’ve chosen to leave out – these are around agency worker rights and IR35.
Here’s what’s going to be changed in the Good Work Plan 2020:
NB. This information was accurate and appropriate at the time of writing.
- Right to written particulars (contract) has been extended
- Increase in the period over which holiday pay is calculated
- Increase in break of service period
- Right to request a ‘stable’ contract
Right to written particulars (contract) has been extended
- Employees and workers now have the right to written particulars
- These must be given on day one or before the person starts rather than within the current 8 weeks after they started
What’s the difference? An employee works under a contract of employment and is fully controlled by the employers. A worker has more freedom; they provide a personal service but are unable to substitute. They are free to accept or reject an offer of work made to them. Usually referred to as a ‘casual worker’.
Take it a step further with the right to substitute and very few controls over when and where work is carried out and you have someone self-employed or a consultant.
So from now on, all workers must receive a written statement and both new employees and workers must receive these documents from day one (or before they start) rather than in the current 8-week period after starting.
Legislation also requires that the following information be given in the contract:
- Days of the week the employee is expected to work
- Whether or not days or hours are variable and if they are, how that will be determined
- All of the benefits provided by the employer
- Probationary period details including conditions for passing
- Details of any training entitlement, mandatory training incl. what is/isn’t funded by the employer
Increase the period over which holiday pay is calculated
Currently, the holiday pay of a worker or employee who has irregular hours is calculated by averaging their number of hours worked over the previous 12 weeks. This will now be extended to 52 weeks or the total number of weeks they’ve worked if they’ve not worked for a year.
Increase in break of service period
At the moment, a gap of one week or more will sufficiently break continuity of service. This gap is now extending to 4 weeks. This is so that employees with irregular working patterns can more easily accumulate continuity of service.
Right to request a ‘stable’ contract
The government has decided to introduce the right for all employees and workers to request a more stable working pattern, subject to them having at least 26 weeks continuous service. Examples of how this may look is that a worker or employee may request a minimum hours contract or perhaps to have the same shift pattern every week.
This is to provide more stability for those employees and workers who are currently on irregular working patterns and to tighten up poor practices in the gig economy industry.
If you need some no-nonsense advice for employers on the Good Work Plan 2020 or any other topics covered in my blogs, I would be more than happy to chat. Just call me on 020 8798 3470 or send me a message.
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