The Employment Leave Bill passed its third reading yesterday, and is set to come into force on the second anniversary of Royal Assent. Employers must ensure that employment agreements which do not already comply with the new statutory minimums are updated within one year of commencement. Some provisions relating to parental leave will take effect earlier, on 1 July 2027.

The Bill will replace the long-criticised Holidays Act 2003, marking a significant shift in the employment law framework.

We have covered the Bill in detail in our May edition of the Employment Echo, which you can access here. Below, we summarise the key changes, as well as amendments since the previous version of the Bill was introduced:

• A new three tier framework for working hours: The Bill introduced three categories of working hours – standard, additional, and casual – which underpin the entire leave regime. Leave entitlements are to be determined by reference to these categories, rather than the existing methods of ordinary weekly pay and relevant daily pay.
• Hours-based accrual from day one of employment: Annual and sick leave will accrue in hours, starting from the first day of employment, rather than accruing after 12 months of continuous employment and being expressed in weeks. Annual leave will accrue at a minimum rate of 0.0769 hours for each standard hour worked, while sick leave will accrue at 0.0385 hours per standard hour up to a cap of 160 hours. Bereavement and family violence leave...

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