Whilst the government appears to have shelved plans for a standalone employment bill of the sort first announced in 2019, many of the employment law rights which were originally expected to be included in the legislation are now progressing through a series of private member’s bills. These were introduced to Parliament last year and currently have the support of the government.
Moreover, the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill has the potential to cause the biggest changes in employment law in decades. This Bill would, if it becomes law, “sunset” (i.e. revoke) vast swathes of EU-derived employment legislation in the UK, except for any legislation which the Government takes proactive steps to retain. While it seems reasonably likely that the 31 December 2023 deadline will be extended, the Bill continues to cause uncertainty.
We look at seven key pieces of employment legislation due to be introduced in 2023.
1. Protection from harassment
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill arose out of the response to the Government consultation on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in 2021. The Bill will reintroduce employers’ liability for third party harassment of employees, for example by customers and clients, during the course of their employment.
Employers will be liable if they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent such harassment and liability can apply to the first incident of harassment that occurs.
The previous “three strikes” requirement...
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