How can businesses start to prepare for Labour's proposed employment legislative changes?

We recently set out some of the key changes that the Labour Government has promised to implement.

Some of these could come into effect as soon as October this year but it is unlikely we will get any update until the Government return from their Summer recess.

What can you do now to prepare? Here are a few tips:

➡️ Getting the right hire, first time, will be so important. Review your recruitment practices. Look at your selection and interviewing process. Are you asking the right questions? Do you use assessment techniques? Ensure all those who get involved in the recruitment process are properly trained.

➡️ Review your current contracts of employment. Do you include probationary periods in your contracts? If you don't, we would recommend you insert them, for example using 6 months initially, with a possible extension of another 6 months.

➡️ Actively use probationary periods if you don't already. Monitor performance during probationary periods and set meetings to review and discuss performance. Don't leave poor performance discussions. If performance is not satisfactory, manage it during the probationary period - it is much harder to manage afterwards.

➡️ Take this opportunity to review your workforce. Do you need to review and discuss with them their performance, attitude or behaviour of any individuals who have less than 2 years service? Now is the time to do this and take any action required.

If you have any questions, or need guidance, as expert HR consultants, we can guide you through these actions.

Also .........

Have you heard of 'quiet vacationing'? It's just a wiggle of the mouse!

This phenomenon, particularly popular among Gen Z and early-career workers, sees 28% of employees taking unofficial time off without informing their boss.

Practices include taking longer lunch breaks, wiggling the mouse to appear active and auto-scheduling emails for out-of-work times to give the impression of going the extra mile.

While it may seem cheeky, it’s not necessarily a sign of laziness. Instead, these behaviours could be driven by a desire for a better work-life balance and flexibility to prevent burnout - and the underlying issue may be a cultural one.

If you need some HR and employment law support, please contact the Hill HR team.