April 6th 2020 brought a number of changes to legislation. A number of these changes will directly impact the recruitment industry and many as a result of the Good Work Plan.
What is the Good Work Plan?
Published in 2018 in response to The Taylor Review, the Good Work Plan outlined a number of recommendations which are intended to protect the rights of workers and provide more clarity about employment status.
One of the changes relates to the statement of written particulars, a document which outlines terms of employment to all workers, rather than just to employees.
Written statements: what’s changing?
Prior to the publication of The Good Work Plan, a written statement of particulars needed to be provided within two months of employment and only to employees.
Matthew Taylor highlighted that the exclusion of workers from this category means that some individuals do not have transparent information surrounding their employment relationship. The government agreed and confirmed that they would legislate to extend the right to a written statement to all workers, make access to a written statement a day one right and expand the information that must be included.
This new legislation is effective from 6th April 2020 and is contained in The Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2018.
There are also changes to the written statement, included within The Employment Rights (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019, which extends the right to a written statement to all workers, not just employees.
What needs to be included in the written statement?
The written statement will have more robust requirements than currently stipulated. The written statement, which is now to be provided from day one, must outline both what is already required, plus some additional information from April 2020:
- How long the contract is expected to last, or the end date of the fixed term contract
- How much notice the worker and the employer need to give to terminate employment
- Details of eligibility for sick leave and pay
- Details of any other types of paid leave (maternity or paternity leave, for example)
- Details and conditions of a probationary period, if applicable
- All remuneration, not just pay, but contributions in cash or kind (such as vouchers or lunch)
- Days and times which the worker is expected to work
What does the change to written statements mean for recruiters?
If you engage workers directly, these changes mean that you may need to make changes to your internal processes where appropriate so you are able to present the written statement to the workers on or before the day they begin their assignment.
However, the change to written statements won’t impact any workers engaged through Parasol, as all of our workers are employees and receive a full contract of employment on, or before, day one which satisfies the requirements of this legislation.
Find out more
For more information about the Good Work Plan and what the changes mean for you, get in touch with us.
