Upcoming changes to employment law
Two announcements at the end of last week went under the radar for many due to so many other issues at the moment, but they could have a significant impact for employers in the future.
The first was that the off-payroll rules (known as IR35) will be repealed from April 2023, having only been introduced in April 2021. This will mean that if an end user engages someone through a personal services company, from next April they will no longer be required to determine the individuals employment status, and it will be for the person providing the services to account for tax and National Insurance contributions, reverting back to the position pre-April 2021.
The second announcement could have an even bigger impact. The Government published the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill which aims to revoke all laws that were introduced to implement EU Law on 31st December 2023. This means that the law relating to issues such as TUPE, working time, agency & part-time workers could expire, unless the Government brings specific laws in to keep them.
I expect that some of these laws will be saved, but until the Government makes further announcements to clarify which EU laws they want to keep, everyone is in the dark. And with over 2,000 pieces of legislation to review across multiple sectors and Government departments, there is no guarantee that they will all be looked at and new laws introduced in the timescales set. Hopefully announcements will be made as soon as possible so that businesses can plan for the future.
If you require advice on the changes please get in touch with our employment department on 01246 932 100 or email us at hello@dawsonradford.co.uk
