The Government has announced several employment law changes, to be brought in as part of a series of regulatory reforms intended to boost economic growth and cut costs for businesses across the UK. These are set out in the ‘Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy’ paper and are being driven in light of the UK’s departure from the EU.
The key proposed changes are as follows:
1. Working Time Regulations 1998 (‘WTR’)
The Government has launched a consultation on reforming these areas of the WTR because they place a disproportionate burden on business and are too complex to be easily understood and used by workers.
2. Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (‘TUPE’)
The Government consultation mentioned above also addresses these proposals to simplify the TUPE process.
3. Limiting Non-Compete Clauses
Unnecessarily burdensome clauses have become a default in too many employment contracts. The reform intends to give workers greater freedom to switch to better paying jobs, boost the wider UK economy, and support employers by widening the talent pool and improving the quality of candidates they can hire.
The Government already carried out a consultation into the reform of post-termination non-compete clauses in contracts of employment from December 2020 to February 2021, and intends to introduce legislation ‘when Parliamentary time allows’. We therefore do not have a clear indication of when this change will be brought in.
This limitation of non-compete clauses will not interfere with the ability of employers to use paid notice periods or garden leave to restrict activities (since the three month limit will only apply to post-termination covenants), or to use other forms of restrictive covenants such as non-solicitation clauses.
The Government’s consultation on the proposed reforms to the WTR and TUPE consultations closes on 7 July 2023 and can be accessed here.
Nick Benton comments:
"The proposed reforms to the WTR and TUPE are likely to be welcomed by employers – and if employers want to give their views on this, they can respond to the Government’s consultation using the link above. However, limiting the duration of non-compete clauses may prove to be more controversial when employers are seeking to protect their businesses.”
If you have any questions or require any assistance on the proposed changes, please contact a member of the team here.
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