Education Digest Autumn Term 2024 – In Legislation
19th September, 2024
Various Bills were set out in the Kings Speech on 17 July 2024 which are relevant to the Education sector, as set out below.
Children’s Wellbeing Bill
This bill aims to remove barriers and promote fairness and quality in education by enacting the following:
- free breakfast clubs in every primary school
- A limit on the number of branded uniform items required by schools to help bring down costs for parents
- A requirement that schools maintain a “Children Not in School Register” and help to support parents of those pupils being home schooled
- Greater powers for Ofsted to enable them to investigate unregistered independent schools
- A change the circumstances in which teachers can be investigated for misconduct
- An increase in consistency between all schools by requiring academies to teach the national curriculum.
Employment Rights Bill
Following the change of Government, we are set to see the biggest reform of employment law in a generation. This will be largely enacted through the Employment Rights Bill, which will be introduced to parliament in October 2024.
The following key changes will feature in the bill:
- A ban on zero hour contracts
- Reform of the law surrounding fire and re-hire
- The introduction of day one rights to all workers, such as parental leave, sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal
- A lower limit threshold and the removal of the three day waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay, increasing the numbers of eligible workers
- Flexible working will become the default position and employers will be required to accommodate this as far as is possible
- It will be unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby within 6 months of her return to work
- A single enforcement body, known as the “Fair Work Agency” will be established to help enforce and strengthen workplace rights
- A fair pay agreement will be introduced to the adult social care sector to assess how such agreements may operate within other sectors
- The School Support Staff Negotiating Body will be reinstated to strengthen the position in relation to teachers and other education staff
- Restrictions regarding trade union legislation will be removed to ensure industrial relations are based around good faith negotiating and bargaining.
Skills England Bill
The Government aims to reform the apprenticeship levy and both simplify and improve the skills system by transferring the functions of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to Skills England, a new body to be established over the next year.
The aim is to create greater coherence between employers, unions, as well as education and training providers to ensure the entire workforce has the necessary skills required to promote economic growth. Skills England will also maintain a list of levy-eligible training.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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