Following the announcement of a general election, Parliament was prorogued on 24 May and dissolved on 30 May.
During the "wash-up" period before prorogation, the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Bill received Royal Assent becoming the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024. The Act provides that there will be no minimum service requirement to be eligible for paternity leave where the mother has died in the first year after birth. A bereaved parent of an adopted child, or intended parent of a child born through a surrogacy arrangement, will also fall within this. In situations where the child also dies (or is returned after adoption), regulations could allow the bereaved employee to stay on paternity leave for a period, despite the fact that they would not be taking the leave for the usual purpose of supporting the mother or caring for the child. Regulations could also provide enhanced redundancy protection to bereaved employees when they return from extended paternity leave and allow for keeping-in-touch days without bringing leave to an end.
The House of Lords approved the draft statutory Code of Practice on the fair and transparent distribution of tips. Commencement regulations are needed to bring in the code and the remaining provisions of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 into force. It had been expected that they would come into force on 1 October 2024.
The Code of Practice (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Order 2024 was made on 24 May 2024 and brings into force the statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement on 18 July 2024. It remains to be seen whether this comes into force as Labour has stated that it intends to end the practice of fire and re-hire if it wins the election.
