On The Horizon – December 2024

This month, the public policy agenda seems to be all about contrasts and the balancing, or juggling, of different agendas.

Making Work Pay

Much has happened for employers since the October 10^th publication of the Employment Rights Bill. Immediately following the Bill’s release, the leading employers we work with at Bright Horizons engaged positively with the measures set to enhance family-inclusion, such as:

• Making existing entitlements to Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave available from ‘Day 1’ of employment (and enabling parents to take their Paternity Leave and pay after Shared Parental Leave and pay).
• The intended new right to unpaid Bereavement Leave, allowing employees to take leave from work to grieve the loss of a loved one
• New protections from dismissal for those who are pregnant and for six months after return to work for people of any gender taking maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
• Strengthening the existing ‘Day 1’ right to request flexible working. The employer can still turn down the request for one of eight grounds but must now demonstrate that the refusal is reasonable.

The government has provided helpful summary ‘factsheets’ for these and more.

Despite the far-reaching implications of the Bill, it was what happened at the end of October, in the Budget, that drew much more comment from employers. The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and IoD (Institute of Directors) have both reported that the rising costs of employment potentially run counter to the aim for growth in the economy, given the April 2025 rise in employers National Insurance Contributions to 15% the lower threshold for payment of Employer NI and the rise in Minimum Wage. That said, the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) sees rising confidence in hiring, especially in London – tempered by the budget but with overall trends strong.

Getting Britain Working

Firmly in the direction of growth however, the Government has launched its Get Britain Working White Paper, described as “the biggest reform to employment support for a generation”. The premise here is that “To get Britain growing again, we’ve got to get Britain working again.” The 68 pages contain measures:

• to tackle economic inactivity caused by ill health
• to create a new jobs and careers service to support more people into work and to help them progress in work
• and the offer of a “Youth Guarantee”, which means every 18–21-year-old in England will have access to an apprenticeship, quality training and education opportunities or will be provided with help to find a job.

When Caring Clashes with Career

The joint ministerial forward to the Get Britain Working White Paper (by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Secretary of State for Education, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) lists groups that are economically inactive and in need of support to work. It includes “women often caring for elderly relatives, who have huge experience to offer employers but far too few opportunities”.

It does not mention the phenomenon picked up in inews of mothers (in particular) giving up work to support and advocate for their children with special educational needs and disability (SEND). A whole thread spans out from this on Mumsnet with many sharing their experience of careers set aside in order to care, and raising the question of whether dual career families really work, especially when additional needs arise.

In light of International Men’s Day on 19th November and Movember’s focus on men’s wellbeing, employers are also very aware of the needs of working fathers, as Angela Stalker captures in this HRreview feature. It was also really insightful hearing from Marek Broniewski, SVP EMEA Regulatory Reward at Citi who joined our panel at the wonderful Inclusive Workplace conference to bring a dad’s perspective on what employers can do to ensure inclusion.

What everyone seems to agree on is the need for more support. There is a definite role for employers here. Our Back-Up Care team knows how much working carers and parents want to continue delivering at work while caring for their loved ones – something Marek underlined given his use of the service – and our Speak to An Expert team knows the complex day-to-day challenges they navigate and how access to practical advice can be transformational.

The cost of sickness absence

Another form of ‘economic inactivity’ is when employees are temporarily out on sick leave. People Management reports the Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) finding that around 33.7 million working days have been lost as a result of work-related ill health or injury in the past year.  But how many days are also taken by parents and carers covering their dependants’ care needs, who feel unable to discuss these responsibilities, or ill-equipped to find any other way to address them?

One of the areas we will be watching from the Employment Rights Bill is the reform of sickness absence payments through removing the Lower Earnings Limit for access to Statutory Sick Pay and removing the waiting period, making Statutory Sick Pay available from day one. Will sick leave then become more popular as a way of attending to family, if employers have no other provision?

Being the Employer of Choice

We asked a group of our clients at a recent cross-sector peer council roundtable about the drivers which lead to their having family supports in place, even in a cost-conscious environment. Competition for talent was highest driver on the list. Whatever the external mood, even in budget-scrutinising times, employers of choice focus on removing barriers for everyone who wants to combine a career with a satisfying and successful family life. They are also united in a continuing focus on empowering female careers, to address the gender pay gap and boost diversity and inclusion among senior leadership.

This piece in People Management explains the layers of benefit that employers gain from putting Back-Up Care in place, from productivity and presence instead of absence, to loyalty and peace of mind. It was also very eloquently underlined by Alison Kanabe (MSc, BA (Hons), APMI, CIPD), SVP Head of Pensions and Benefits EMEA at Bank of America in her case study on family support at the Inclusive Workplace conference.

A time of focus on costs is a moment when it’s also vital to look at the cost of inaction. Several recent reports demonstrate the potential loss of talent when relevant, practical supports are not in place. HRreviewreports that findings from employee benefits technology provider Zest show almost six in ten (56%) employees “are willing to leave their current job if offered a better benefits package elsewhere" and "Almost two-thirds (63%) of employees say that workplace benefits have become more important when considering new roles”, rising to 72% among younger employees aged 18-34.

Meanwhile, Employee Benefits points out many employers are seeing a gap emerge between the benefits they offer and what employees actually want: “Work-life balance, wellbeing and financial support are especially valued by employees”.

Missions and Milestones

On Thursday 5th December, Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer set out his five detailed missions for the UK, including "measurable milestones", enabling the public to track progress. The Plan for Change includes 'Raising living standards'; 'Rebuilding Britain with 1.5 million homes in England'; 'Ending hospital backlogs'; 'Putting police back on the beat'; 'Securing home-grown energy' and 'Giving children the best start in life', with a specific target of "75% of five-year-olds in England ready to learn when they start school". In turn, this translates to that 75% "reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment – which looks at children’s development across areas like language, personal, social and emotional development, and maths and literacy – by 2028."

School readiness is a strong focus for all providers of quality early education. At Bright Horizons, it rests on a shared understanding of child development, working out from a core focus on wellbeing and resilience as a foundation for specific skills in reading, maths and much more.

For employers who want their employees to achieve success and focus at work through having access to high quality early education, the options include a workplace nursery or a workplace nursery partnership. The guidance from HMRC has been clarified recently on partnering with a local nursery. Paul Quartly sheds light, in this invited article from REBA. Our recent webinar, partnering with HR Grapevine also gives a very full account of the possibilities for employers, with thanks to colleagues Paul Quartly and Kerri Haseman.

And, to end on a futuristic note, The Times offered an interesting look at innovations from the recent Smart City Expo World Congress 2024 in Barcelona. Predictions included that the cities of the future will prioritise wellbeing through a focus on services such as childcare. “Why? Because if you can increase access to childcare, culture, art, landscapes and self-autonomy, you can boost birth rates in ageing populations and help municipalities to sustain themselves."