Employment Rights Bill

As part of its pre-election manifesto Labour pledged a 100-day reform of employment rights – Make Work Pay Plan.

In our previous article, we speculated on what might be included in the Employment Rights Bill (the Bill) and the possible timetable for delivery.

The publication of the Employment Rights Bill today is two days ahead of Labour’s 100-day deadline and applies a slightly softer touch, offering a degree of compromise missing from prior communication.

A total of 28 measures have made it into the Bill and most will be subject to extended consultation which will further delay their introduction for at least two years.

Notable omissions from the Bill include the Right to switch off, extending pay gap reporting to ethnicity and disability, and the creation of single worker status, all of which have been included in a Next Steps document outlining some 30 or longer-term goals.

The Bill includes the removal of the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims, which is a significant change. However, it also proposes a nine-month statutory probationary period during which a more relaxed dismissal process can be applied. The practical implications of this change will be further discussed.

Other provisions in the Bill include:

• Day-1 rights for parental leave, paternity leave and bereavement leave.
• Access to Statutory Sick Pay without the need for qualifying earnings, starting from the first day of absence.
• A right to switch from zero-hours contract to a guaranteed hours contract if an employee works regular hours over a 12-week period.
• Reasonable notice of shift changes.
• Flexible working requests from the first day of employment.
• Fire and rehire will be banned.
• Establishment of a new enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency, to enforce employment rights.
• The removal of age bands from the minimum wage.

The Bill has garnered mixed reviews with many unions claiming that it has been watered down. Most business owners are still unsure about what to expect. Until the consultation process is concluded, it's difficult to assess the true impact of these reforms and determine the specific steps that need to be taken. However, it's fair to say that businesses do have a clear indication of the areas that will require their attention.