Are you prepared for upcoming changes for new joiners?

With effect from 6 April 2020, the requirement to provide new employees with certain minimum information about their employment terms is going to change.  The government announced the changes in its Good Work Plan in December 2018.  The new rules are likely to affect some employers’ onboarding procedures. 

Overview of current regime

Currently, employers will be aware that employees who are due to be employed for longer than one month are entitled to a ‘Statement of Particulars of Employment’ within two months of their start date.

The document is sometimes referred to as a ‘Section 1 Statement’ as the right comes from section 1 of the Employment Rights Act.

There are three categories of information which employers must provide:

• ‘The principal statement.’  This is information that should be provided in one document.  This includes the identity of the employer and employee, commencement date, holiday entitlement, place of work and the person to whom the employee should appeal in a disciplinary situation and to whom they may submit a grievance.
   
• Information that may be given in another reasonably accessible document.  This include terms about incapacity and sick pay, notice periods and pension information.
   
• Information that may be given in a supplementary statement.  This includes confirmation as to whether the employee will be required to work outside of the UK for more than one month and details of any collective agreements.

Changes from 6 April 2020

The changes will affect any person starting work on or after 6 April 2020.

The key changes are as follows:

• The written statement of particulars will be a ‘day one right,’ that is to say that the information will need to be provided on or before the employee’s start date.  There are some exceptions to this, information about pensions, collective agreements, training entitlement and certain information about disciplinary and grievance procedures can be given within the first two months of employment.
   
• The obligation to provide a written statement will be extended to workers, as well as employees.
   
• Workers/employees will have the right to a written statement even if their employment is expected to last for less than one month.
   
• Most of the information will need to be provided in a single document.
   
• Employers will need to provide the following additional particulars:
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  • the days of the week the worker is required to work, whether the working hours may be variable and how any variation will be determined;
  • any paid leave to which the worker is entitled;
  • details of all remuneration and benefits;
  • any probationary period; and
  • any training entitlement provided by the employer, including whether any training is mandatory and/or must be paid for by the worker.