We don’t usually report on Private Members’ Bills unless or until they actually became law. Occasionally, however, we do make an exception!
There are currently two Private Members’ Bills being considered by parliament that are definitely worthy of a mention because they have already received government backing. The reforms contained within the proposed legislation are on topics that had been expected to be covered in the long awaited Employment Bill, which is on pause after it was omitted from the Queen’s Speech in May this year.
There are a number of approval stages left before either Bill could become law so we will be providing further updates in due course. In the meantime, here is a brief summary of the proposed changes:
Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill – This Bill is intended to support parents whose babies require neonatal care after birth. Eligible parents would be entitled to 12 weeks’ paid leave in circumstances when their babies have been admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days, and who have a continuous stay in hospital of seven full days or more. This leave would be a statutory right from day one of employment and would be in addition to any entitlement to other types of family-related leave, such as maternity or paternity leave.
Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill – This Bill would ban employers from withholding tips from workers and would give workers the right to request further information regarding their employer’s tipping record. It would also create a new statutory Code of Practice to provide advice on how tips should be distributed.
These are important potential changes to the future employment law landscape and employers should take note now and prepare for them to be implemented in law sometime soon.