How employment law is adding pressure to printers

Employment law changes in the UK are causing employers to worry, but global trends show that employers everywhere need to prepare for stronger worker protections.

The UK’s Employment Rights Bill is currently working through Parliament and represents significant changes to employment law that will require employers to update their employment contracts, policies and practices. While day one unfair dismissal rights will not come in until 2027, the industry needs to begin preparing now for what will be a fundamental shift in employment relationships.

The picture in the UK is indicative of global trends including new rules for AI transparency and bias, stronger protections for workers in the gig economy, and legislative efforts to protect workers’ rights in hybrid and remote environments, such as the right to disconnect.

The UK government wants to make the right to raise a claim for unfair dismissal a ‘day one’ right, subject to the ability to dismiss during a probationary period if a ‘lighter-touch’ process is followed by the employer. This is particularly significant for print companies that have traditionally relied on probationary periods to assess whether new hires possess the technical skills and attention to detail required for printing roles. The ability to test employees before they gain full protection will be narrowed considerably.

The rate of employer National Insurance Contributions will increase by 1.2 percentage points, from 13.8% to 15%, and the Secondary Threshold will reduce from £9,100 per year to £5,000 per year from April 2025. For an industry with tight margins, this directly increases payroll costs and could make the difference between profitability and loss for smaller operations.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) waiting periods are being removed so that SSP will be payable from the first day of absence, and the lower earnings limit is being removed to make it available to all employees regardless of their earnings. This removes the three-day waiting period and extends coverage to lower-paid workers, increasing costs for employers.

New measures aimed at providing zero/low hours workers and agency workers with stable hours and a predictable income will affect businesses that use flexible staffing models to manage fluctuating demand. Print companies that often rely on casual workers during peak periods, will see their flexibility significantly restricted.

Finally, the circumstances in which an employer can terminate and offer re-engagement on new terms of employment will be significantly limited, reducing flexibility during restructuring. This is particularly…