Welcome back to the start of another calendar year! I hope you had some time to rest and recuperate over the festive period – the holiday season seems to fly by!
There are many themes that we could choose to write about in this edition of Heads Up! but you’ll see that most of the articles have a focus on people issues. The legal framework relating to some aspects of Employment Law can be very complicated and managing HR issues well at the outset is crucial to mitigating the risk of claims and a disgruntled workforce. Of course, you are not on your own and our SchoolsHR team are on hand to provide support along the way.
On a different topic, we have also included a note on the consultation relating to the draft Department for Education guidance titled “Gender questioning children”. It remains a sensitive and difficult area for schools to navigate and we have focused on giving schools some practical points to reflect on and implement where appropriate.
I am also pleased to announce our free SEND webinar mini-series where our expert lawyers will discussing various issues including EHCPs, reasonable adjustments, SEND funding and much more! Please click here to sign up and feel free to let others in your organisation know about these sessions if you think they will find it useful.
Shared Parental Leave
The purpose of this note is to give an overview of how shared parental leave works. It does not cover how shared parental leave works in all scenarios and we recommend seeking further advice where necessary.
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Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023
New regulations, ‘The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023’, are due to come into force from 1 January 2024, which will affect three areas of employment: annual leave/holiday pay, the Working Time Regulations, and TUPE. The annual leave/holiday pay section of the Regulations is likely the most relevant in the education context, but there is a brief overview of the Working Time Regulations and TUPE for completeness.
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Ill Health Retirement
The purpose of this note is to give an overview of ill-health retirement (IHR) and when someone may be eligible for ill health benefits under the LGPS and the TPS schemes.
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Employment Rights Regulations 2023 (Harpur Trust v Brazel)
New regulations, ‘The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023’, came into force from 1 January 2024, which affect three areas of employment:
- Annual leave/holiday pay
- The Working Time Regulations
- TUPE
This briefing note focuses on the changes to annual leave and holiday pay, with a brief overview of the changes to the Working Time Regulations and TUPE.
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How to approach Restructuring and Redundancy
When approaching restructuring or planning redundancies, it is important that a proper process is followed and that all relevant factors are considered. It is for this reason that we would always recommend coming back to us and obtaining legal advice if you are planning a restructure or redundancies.
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Consultation on draft non-statutory guidance issued by the Department for Education: “Gender questioning children”
Long-awaited draft guidance for schools has now been published for consultation. The guidance is called “Gender questioning children” and is available here.
The 12-week consultation period closes at 11:59pm on 12 March 2024 so there is time to respond with your comments in the Spring Term. It is for the Government to decide if any changes are required once the consultation closes.