Three new Bills that may affect you
- Pay & Benefits
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
In December and January, several new Bills were proposed in parliament that may result in changes to employment law. These are currently in their early stages and will need to make their way through the full parliamentary process before becoming law.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced by the Government on 17th December 2024, proposes changes to the rules on employing children in England as outlined in the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
It is proposed that all children who are employed to work will be required to have a permit, issued by a local authority, to take up suitable employment. Currently most, but not all local authorities have byelaws in place which require children to have work permits.
Sunday employment restrictions will be amended so that a Sunday is treated the same as a Saturday. Currently children are only allowed to work 2 hours on a Sunday, and 5 hours on a Saturday for 14 year-olds, 8 hours for 15 and 16 year-olds.
Children will be able to work for up to an hour before school and until 8pm, currently they can only work until 7pm. Current caps on weekly hour limits, as well as a restriction to not be allowed to work during the school day will remain.
The Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill was introduced in parliament as a Private Members’ Bill on 7th January 2025.
The Bill proposes the introduction of a right to two-weeks paid leave for individuals experiencing domestic abuse. The intention is for the leave to be used for finding a place of safety, dealing with health or housing issues, childcare, attending court or police interviews, attending counselling etc.
The Bill will be subject to a consultation to outline the mechanics of how it will work in practice.
Separately to this bill, an amendment to the Government’s Employment Rights Bill has been tabled which also looks to introduce paid leave to those suffering from domestic abuse. On top of paid leave, this amendment also proposes greater employment protections for those suffering from domestic abuse, and a requirement for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent it. This amendment is currently only a proposal and may not make it to any final version of the Bill.
The Office of the Whistleblower Bill was put forward to parliament as a Private Members’ Bill on 18th December 2024.
The Bill proposes to establish an independent Office of the Whistleblower to protect whistleblowers. The office will set, monitor and enforce standards for the management of whistleblowing cases, provide disclosure and advice services, direct whistleblowing investigations, and order redress of detriment suffered by whistleblowers.
By having this office in place, the Bill aims to provide employees and individuals greater protections when blowing the whistle and proposes that it will be a designated body to which people can report when they have made a disclosure.
Check our BrAInbox for instant answers to questions like:
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
Peninsula Team, Peninsula Team
(Last updated )
When AI meets 40 years of Peninsula expertise... you get instant, expert answers to your HR and health & safety questions