April 2024 HR Checklist

• Published date: 05 April 2024
• Law Firm: Herbert Smith Freehills
• Author: Ms Anna Henderson

This April sees a raft of employment law changes coming into force, requiring employers to update staff policies and ensure that managers are briefed. Below is a quick checklist, along with links to our earlier more detailed posts. Please do get in touch with your usual HSF contact if you would like further information or assistance with updating policies.

Changes to flexible work requests: all proposed changes now confirmed for 6 April

• Regulations were made earlier in the year making the right to request flexible working a day one right from 6 April 2024.
• A second set of regulations was required to bring amendments to primary legislation into force, including to allow two requests a year and shorten the time for employers to respond to two months. On 29th March these regulations were finally published on the government legislation website, confirming the 6 April commencement date. Acas's revised statutory code also comes into force on 6 April. See here for further details of the changes and here for details of revisions to the Code. Flexible work policies will need to be amended and managers made aware of the key changes, in particular the shorter timeframe for responding and the need to consult with the employee before rejecting a request.
• Acas has previously said that it will publish non-statutory guidance to accompany the code - this was not yet available at the time of writing.

Changes to family leave rights

• New right to unpaid carers' leave: day one right to up to one week's leave (unpaid) per rolling 12 months to provide or make arrangements for care of dependants with...