Changes to Section 1 statement of terms: what should employers be doing?

Following the July 2017 Taylor Review and the publication of the Good Work Plan in December 2018, the changes to the scope of Section 1 statements are now looming. So what does this mean for employers in respect of those starting work on or after 6 April 2020 and their existing employees and workers who can request a new section 1 statement after this date?

• First, the obligation to provide an employee with a written statement of particulars will be extended from 6 April 2020 to include workers.
• Second, the provision of written particulars will become a “Day 1 Right” and so employers will, in most cases, need to ensure that they are providing employees/workers with written particulars on or before the date on which work begins, and there will be no minimum service requirement for either a worker or an employee to be entitled to receive such a document.
• As to what changes are being made to the required particulars, employers will now need to also include detail in writing about any paid leave to which they are entitled; which days of the week that they are required to work and, if there can be any variation to this, how that variation will be determined; details of all benefits that will be provided by the employer; details of any probationary period, including the duration and any conditions; and any training entitlement provided, including whether it is optional/mandatory and how the cost of this training is to be covered.
• The new Section 1 requirements only apply for contracts which start on or after 6 April 2020. However, existing employees and workers will be entitled to request a newly compliant Section 1 statement, and employers will need to provide this within one month of such a request or, if there are any changes made to any of the new information required to be given or the employee or the worker is re-engaged, then an updated Section 1 statement would also need to be provided.

In view of the above, it is likely that many employers will need to update their template contracts now to be ready for 6 April 2020 in order to ensure compliance with these new statutory requirements. Please get in touch with your usual Mayer Brown Employment Department contact if you need any assistance with updating your contracts.

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