On Wednesday 17th July 2024, the new labour government unveiled its ‘plans for Britain’ in the King’s Speech.
As part of the speech, some major changes were introduced affecting landlord & tenant, employment law and more.
Here’s what you need to know…
Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions banned
Section 21 previously allowed landlords to evict a tenant without giving a reason for repossession however, according to the King’s Speech, Labour are set to ban them as part of the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill.
This means that, instead of relying on Section 21, landlords will have to use a Section 8 notice to repossess their property; where they’ll need to provide a ‘concrete and evidenced reason’ for eviction.
For further advice on Section 8, how it works and the grounds, read our dedicated article here.
What does this mean for landlords?
Michelle Hayter, Landlord & Tenant specialist, said: “The banning of Section 21 evictions has been a long time coming and will come as no surprise to landlords.
With that being said, it does mean that anyone wishing to evict a tenant and repossess their property will now have to give a reason for doing so, relying on Section 8.
With many fearing that the outright ban of the Section 21 process will force landlords out of the private rental market, its yet to be seen the impact it will have.
Regardless, landlords should seek legal advice from a legal representative, to assess where they stand, and complete their own due diligence.”
Worker’s Rights
Labour have announced that they will introduce a ‘new deal’ for working people in the form of an Employment Rights Bill; which includes the following:
Banning the use of ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts. Employees will have a right to be provided with a contract that reflects the hours they regularly work.
Actively discourage the use of fire and rehire practices, making it more difficult but not outright ‘banning’ it.
Introduce a presumption of flexible working from day one for workers, with employers required to accommodate this as fair as is reasonable, meaning the duty will fall to the business to justify why it may not offer flexi-time.
Equality (Race and Discrimination) Bill
This draft legislation announced today would require employers with 250 or more employees to report ethnicity and disability pay, to ensure equal pay.
Unfair Dismissal
Labour will introduce Day One rights for unfair dismissal, meaning that an employee would be able to claim unfair dismissal from day one of employment, without having to have two years of continuous service. There will however be special rules for probationary periods to assess new hires.
Employment Associate Chris Dobbs discussed these changes, when they were just rumours, in more detail in a seperate article. You can read that here.
What do the employment changes mean for you?
Michelle Kemp said: “Despite a host of changes being proposed within Employment Law, the main takeaway here for many will be day one rights for unfair dismissal.
This change would mean that for redundancies, capability and conduct dismissals, all employers could be required to follow processes and procedures including potentially ACAS Codes, and to carefully consider the reason for dismissal and if that reason is fair.
There would, therefore, be no more dismissals without following due process just because the employee only has 18 months service, for example. However, it is proposed that employers will be able to operate probationary periods in order to assess suitability for continued employment.
In theory, particularly for conduct and capability, employers often carry out at least a condensed version of an appropriate dismissal procedure anyway. However, this could become mandatory and, even if there is a fair reason for dismissal and an appropriate procedure is followed, more Tribunal claims may follow once this extended right is introduced.”
Specialist Solicitors
If you have any questions following this article, perhaps as to how the changes outlined affect you as a landlord or employer, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Our Employment Law and Landlord & Tenant teams are some of the most comprehensive in the area, and would be happy to discuss your specific circumstances with you.
You can call us on 01202 499255, or fill out the form at the top of this page, for a free initial chat.
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