Three private members bills have been given second readings in Parliament, all of which will have a notable impact on employers if they become law.
All three came through their respective second reading with government support and look set to progress through the legislative process and become law in the not-to-distant future.
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill received almost unanimous support in Parliament as it was recently debated in the House of Commons.
The Bill seeks to introduce greater protection for pregnant women and new parents against redundancy.
Under existing legislation, before being able to make an employee on Maternity Leave, Shared Parental Leave or Adoption Leave redundant, employers have an obligation to offer a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists.
The new Bill seeks to extend this protection so that it also applies to new parents returning to work.
Its aim is to prevent workplace discrimination and offer greater job security to new parents returning to work at an important time in their lives.
The protection would be in place from the date on which the employer is notified of the pregnancy or adoption, and run until 18 months post-birth or post-adoption.
Also receiving government backing was the proposed Carers Leave Bill.
This Bill aims to introduce a flexible statutory entitlement of one week’s unpaid leave a year for employees who are providing or arranging care for a dependant.
Currently, around two million people provide unpaid care to their dependants and often have to resort to taking other forms of leave to ensure that care remains in place.
The Carers Leave Bill would force employers to allow these employees to take one week of unpaid leave each year.
This will likely see the need for employers to introduce carer-related policies and some may even consider making the leave a paid right, rather than an unpaid one as the statute requires.
The intention is for carers leave to be available from day one of employment, meaning that there will be no qualifying period to be entitled to the benefit. Employees will also be protected from any dismissal or detriment as a result of taking this time off.
The third bill making it through its second reading is the Worker Protection Bill, which proposes to amend the Equality Act 2010 and introduce new laws that may see employers held liable for third party harassment of an employee.
Currently, the Equality Act 2010 prevents employers from harassing their employees, and provides that employers can be vicariously liable in circumstances where an employee is being harassed by another employee, where the employer fails to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent this.
However, there is currently no liability in circumstances where an employee is harassed by a third party.
The Worker Protection Bill seeks to introduce this new legal liability for employers where an employee suffers harassment from a third party during the course of their employment.
As with harassment by another employee, the employer may only be held liable if they fail “to take all reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so”.
This bill will also extend the obligations on an employer to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees. It will require the employer to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment being suffered in the course of employment.
The key question will be what “all reasonable steps” means.
Although “all reasonable steps” is not defined by statute, existing case law gives an indication as what would be expected of an employer.
In considering the reasonableness of steps taken, a tribunal’s analysis will include the extent to which the step(s) taken were likely to prevent harassment. For example, if an employer has training or policies in place to tackle harassment in the workplace (which it should), there is a difference between brief and superficial training, which is unlikely to have a substantial effect in preventing harassment or thorough training which is likely to be effective. The Tribunal will also consider the practicality and cost of any steps that are, or are not taken.
The threshold for all reasonable steps is likely to be high, and is designed to encourage employers to be proactive in tackling discrimination in the workplace. The proposed amendments in the Worker Protection Bill will only serve to put more pressure on employers to take their responsibilities seriously.
If you are an employer that needs advice or guidance relating to how your business is tackling harassment and discrimination, or advice in relation to any other employment law matters, please contact our Employment team to find out how we can help.
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