Now that 2023 is underway, in-house HR and employment lawyers will be thinking about the big issues likely to affect workforces in the coming months and how best to address them. This article looks at some of the key changes and challenges employers are likely to face this year, and how they might successfully navigate what looks to be a particularly packed HR agenda over the next 12 months.
Upcoming legislative changes will require employers to approach flexible working requests differently - employees will have the right to ask for flexible working from day one of employment and, if an employer cannot accommodate such a request, they will need to discuss alternative options before they reject it. It is also likely that several private members bills relating to the extension of redundancy protection on the return to work from family leave, introduction of paid neonatal leave and a new (unpaid) carer’s leave will progress through Parliament, after the Employment Bill which originally included these proposed changes fell down the government’s agenda. We await clarification on the minefield of calculating holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers in light of the current government consultation on the issue. We also await the findings of the ICO consultations on monitoring workers and processing workers’ health data. We expect to see more consultations and reform proposals as the deadline for the automatic repeal of EU-derived law (unless it is replaced by, or restated in, national legislation) approaches at the end of the year. This deadline may be pushed back but, if and when it takes effect, this could lead to significant changes in areas currently governed by the Working Time Regulations, TUPE and the Agency Worker Regulations.
In addition to this legislative upheaval, we anticipate the below issues to be firmly on HR agendas in the coming months:
Companies and their workforces have been feeling the effects of national train strikes for a number of months already and it looks like these will stretch into 2023. In addition, many schools across the country will be closed again when teachers continue their strike action in March. Companies are likely to find that many employees may be unable to travel into work, or unable to work at all due to caring responsibilities, on affected days. What is the best approach for employers to take in these circumstances?
There is no legal requirement to provide paid time off, but employers may wish to consider their response in the wider context of the cost of living crisis and skills gap shortages. Employers will want to bear in mind:
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to shape ways of working in 2023 - the movement from traditional office based working patterns to more hybrid, or even fully remote, working models appears to be here to stay. Depending on your business and other issues such as real estate requirements and facilities overheads, this may be a blessing or a curse. In any event, employers may want to pause now to consider the below issues:
As the cost of living crisis takes hold, employers may be wondering what they can do to help their workforce. In-work poverty is a serious issue in the UK, with 61% of working age adults in poverty living in a household with at least one working adult (statistic from Joseph Rowntree Foundation UK Poverty 2023 report Proportion of working-age adults in poverty who are in working and workless households | JRF). Financial worries can negatively affect work performance, productivity and employees’ physical and mental wellbeing.
We know this is on many employers’ radars. Some of the steps that employers are taking include financial interventions (e.g. pay rises, one-off bonuses, creation of hardship funds), improving benefits packages and considering other non-financial interventions (e.g. provision of drinks and meals, installing fridges and/or basic cooking facilities so employees can bring food from home, financial education such as alerting staff to scams and providing debt advice and financial counselling). In order to identify what changes might be most effective, employers may consider surveying employees to gain insights into their concerns and current financial wellbeing, subject to any applicable data protection principles. Employers will also need to carefully consider the tax and other regulatory implications of introducing new benefits or financial interventions. Employers will need to ensure any conditions linked to new benefits are made clear and, if they are intended to be temporary in nature only, this will need to be clearly documented to mitigate the risk of inadvertently creating contractual obligations.
Employers may also want to consider how changes to their working practices might alleviate financial pressures for their workforce. For example, employers who engage employees and workers with irregular hours may want to consider ways to reduce the unpredictability of their working patterns and reconsider any barriers that may prevent these workers taking additional jobs to supplement their income. Employers may want to revisit existing policies, or introduce new ones, including:
Employers can also consider how managers and HR can help:
Whilst managing a workforce naturally presents challenges, 2023 is already shaping up to be a significant year for employers in terms of legislative change and social pressures. With the above issues likely to continue for some time into the year, it may be worth employers taking some time now to consider how to react to these challenges and, where possible, proactively engage with these topics to ensure that policies, strategies and communications can be put in place to help employers and employees navigate these issues.