JUNE 2025
EDITION
BI-MONTHLY ORBIT
Your Employment Rights Bill Update
The Employment Rights Bill is currently at the House of Lords stage, where they will review changes and make amendments.
The government has already made several amendments, including changes to fire and hire in order to prevent small changes to contracts being caught by the legislation and a clause outlining how fire and hire would work in the public sector.
There has also been an amendment to bereavement leave to include pregnancy loss before 24 weeks and proposed one week of unpaid leave, which will be consulted on.
Zero-hours contract regulations for agency workers have been tabled to recognise that some workers get paid a premium for insecure contracts.
After the Lords, the proposals go back and forward between the House of Commons and House of Lords until they agree and its likely to be the autumn before the bill becomes law. Once that happens then the implementation process starts with many consultations about how the process should work.
The more significant changes like statutory sick pay, day one rights, probation period and zero hours contracts are expected to come into force in April 2026. Where there is also increased penalty for failure to consult which doubles the award from 90 to 180 days pay. The removal of length of service requirement for parental and paternity leave. Stronger safeguarding that will qualify sexual harassment as whistleblowing. Statutory sick pay sees the removal of the lower earnings limit i.e. no 3-day waiting period. And digital and workplace ballots for trade unions allowed.
Interestingly Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) have now come under scrutiny and an amendment is designed to prevent employers using NDAs to silence workers making allegations of harassment or discrimination. The government intends to consult on this one setting out more details before commencing this further.
Guest Writer
Our Guest Writer – Jayne Bernstein, Pay As You Go Business Solutions
PAY AS YOU GO BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
Taking the BS out of your daily grind, so you don’t have to.
Running a business can be incredibly rewarding—but it can also be lonely, overwhelming, and chaotic behind the scenes. Many small business owners find themselves wearing too many hats, juggling admin, projects, tech, and day-to-day tasks—often at the expense of their time, energy, and growth.
I’m Jayne, and I set up Pay As You Go Business Solutions to support business owners who need an extra pair of hands—and a clear head—to help things run more smoothly. I work with sole traders, SMEs and small-medium sized companies who are often doing brilliant work but are feeling the weight of the operational side of their business.
How I Help
Every business is different, so the support I offer is always tailored. Some clients need help getting a project back on track. Others want their systems to flow better. Some just want their inboxes cleared and their admin under control.
Here are a few ways I support my clients: Think of me as your on-demand operations manager and strategic assistant. I help businesses regain time, focus, and momentum by offering services such as:
- Project Management – Planning, coordination, and delivery support for internal and client-facing projects. Managing the details of a project so they can focus on delivery
- Operational Management – Streamlining systems, creating workflows, and improving productivity. Working alongside clients to streamline processes and improve how things run day-to-day
- Admin Support – Day-to-day admin, research, inbox management, and business documentation. Handling the admin that eats into their evenings
- Process Development – Identifying and removing bottlenecks that hold your business back. Giving structure to ideas and helping turn plans into action
- IT & Tech Support – Helping you make smarter use of tools and technology so lightening the load during busy periods or times of change.
It’s not just about tasks—it’s about restoring time, space, and clarity so business owners can focus on what they do best.
Why Pay As You Go?
Not everyone needs full-time help. Some just need someone they can rely on when things get too much or a fresh perspective when they’re feeling stuck. My support is flexible, professional, and designed to fit around each business as it grows and evolves.
Hidden CCTV - Should They Be Used?
You may have seen the news in the press recently about Aer Lingus losing an estimate 200k Euros from cleaners stealing duty free items onboard aircraft.
They had installed hidden cameras to investigate the loss and although this helped secure convictions in this particular instance covert monitoring should never be a first resort.
Before employers do that, it is advisable to ensure they are meeting their obligations under GDPR. The regulations clearly states they have to have a strong suspicion of serious wrongdoing. The covert cameras should be proportionate and only taken for a limited time otherwise it would not have been justified or legal.
Generally, employers would inform their employees that CCTV is in use and this should be clearly documented in the business process and procedures such as handbook, disciplinary policy etc.
Things like making sure footage and the cameras have limited access and that they are used legitimately and that employee privacy is respected.
It would be easy to use footage to jump straight into dismissal however not following the disciplinary process as detailed in your handbook or policy could result in a procedural unfair dismissal case.
Lack of Flexibility In The Workplace
New research into flexible and hybrid working practices from the CIPD has shown that more than one million employees in the UK have left their jobs since January 2024 due to their employer’s lack of flexible working.
That is an astounding number so why is this you might ask.
The research showed that 53% of the employees asked indicated that they were being pressured to spend more time in the office. Fourteen percent of the employers said they planned to increase the number of mandatory office days they required.
Clearly if employers are not finding the right balance of office days, they risk more employees leaving and the frustration and costs that that incurs. This would also include the inevitable impact on employee morale, wellbeing, and productivity.
An estimated 91% of employers do offer flexible working but it looks like this push back to the workplace is having a negative impact on the overall flexible offering.
Fifty-one percent of employers required a set number of office days each week and it was commonly three days a week. 14% of employers specified a number of days per month.
It seems that 70% of the businesses indicated that the pressure for office days is coming from senior management which makes you wonder why?
So, we can see we have a difference of employee requirement and that of the business which is ultimately losing the business its staff.
When four out of five believe that flexible working has improved their quality of life it is hard to argue against.
The younger workforce is less tolerant of inflexibility and are less likely to stay – they are however our future and as the maturer workforce reduces so does an employer’s risk of reduced productivity.
The solution is in the title “Flexibility” as long as both parties have that ability then there will nearly always be a way through.
