The exact schedule for the Employment Rights Bill is still uncertain, but there are a number of practical measures HR teams can take now to get on the front foot.
The Employment Rights Bill was due to reach the last of its Committee Stage readings this week, in the hope that it could be passed before Parliament’s summer recess, which begins on 22 July.
This is looking less likely, now that a further Committee Stage has been booked in for the end of June. But when it does complete this debate in the House of Lords, it will then move onto the report stage before a third and final reading.
Earlier this month, employment rights minister Justin Madders told delegates at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) annual conference that the government would issue a road map in due course, setting out how the Bill would be implemented.
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Whatever the likely timeline, there are aspects of the Bill that employers can address right now. It covers some 28 areas of employment law, and – according to some calculations – there are 76 potential complaints an employee could raise at employment tribunal once it has passed.
Speaking at this month’s CIPD Festival of Work, Amanda Chadwick of its HR-inform employment advice division summed it up: “We need to embrace it, it’s not going away, and it’ll go through parliament quicker than you think.”
In the meantime, HR experts and employment lawyers round up some of the ways to “get your house in order” before the ink dries on the most radical reform to employment legislation in decades.
Do exit interviews
One of the most drastic pieces of reform in the Bill is the doubling of the time in which an employee can bring a tribunal claim – from three to six months. Although this will give parties more time to resolve disputes before going to court, it could also result in a higher volume of claims in an overburdened tribunal system.
Chadwick advises HR professionals to prioritise exit interviews and act upon the issues raised, as a tribunal claim down the line could lead to severe reputational damage. “This is about engagement, and that includes exit,” she advises. “You can’t just give someone a job and expect them to always be happy. Brand is everything.”
Upskill managers
With the introduction of day-one unfair dismissal rights, ensuring managers can handle performance conversations is crucial, according to Nic Elliott, head of employment at Actons law firm.
“We’ve been helping clients upskill managers on engaging with performance issues earlier in the employee’s time with the employer – running proper probation reviews, tackling training issues, and engaging in difficult conversations that might have been let slide in the past,” he says.
He also advocates “training managers out of the ‘it’s fine, they have less than two years’ service’ mentality”, as once secondary legislation comes in, this risk immediately increases.
“Employers are keen to focus on this now, partly because it will be important for when the legislative changes come, but also because the economic climate means focus on performance, efficiency, and outputs is as important as ever,” he adds.
Sarah Kerr, technical HR consultant at AdviserPlus, says processes will need to be watertight: “At the moment, the safety net for many organisations is the two-year qualifying period before unfair dismissal rights kick in, but that safety net is going.
“In its place will be a system that allows a lighter-touch dismissal procedure during probation. Now is a good time to make sure all probation policies are consistent, managers are properly trained, and documentation is up to date.”
Audit worker status
“HR teams shouldn’t sit tight – instead, they can take stock of the systems and policies they already have in place,” says Chris Williams, global people and culture director at consultancy Mauve Group.
For companies that don’t already have an HR system to track data such as employee absence, contract status and the like, it’s worth investing in one.
Use these systems to support a review of worker classifications, particularly if the business employs domestic and international workers on varying contracts, he advises, as the Bill introduces day-one rights “that go beyond the employment protections offered in other jurisdictions”.
“Now is the time to review contracts, handbooks, and onboarding materials. Proactive preparation will be key to avoiding risk and showing good faith as the UK moves toward a more protective employment framework,” he says.
“For employers with shift-based or casual work patterns, map out current arrangements and create a checklist of what could be affected: notice periods, scheduling, sick pay, leave, and redundancy rights.”
Update payroll systems
Statutory sick pay will be payable from the first day of sickness under the legislation, and eligibility will extend to lower earners. Parental and paternity leave, as well as unpaid parental leave, will also become day-one rights, and bereavement leave is set to be expanded.
To deal with this, organisations will need to ensure payroll systems reflect the new SSP rates and eligibility, says Alan Lewis, an employment partner at Constantine Law. “Revise family leave policies to remove qualifying periods, and communicate new entitlements to staff and update handbooks,” he advises.
Kerr at AdviserPlus suggests that HR teams reassess how sickness is recorded and managed, “with a view to moving absence management from a reactive to a proactive intervention”.
“With eligibility moving to day-one and applying to all workers regardless of earnings, employers are likely to see an increase in absence and associated costs, which isn’t a change that can just be quietly absorbed,” she says. “A tick-box process won’t cut it; leaders need to create a culture where early intervention is part of keeping people well and in work.”
Get ahead on third-party harassment
“Decency and respect applies to customers, clients and contractors and getting ahead will help your compliance with the Worker Protection Act as well as [upcoming duties] around third-party harassment,” says Dr Enya Doyle, a harassment prevention specialist.
She advises that employers ask themselves three questions to aid their compliance: do we offer multiple, low-barrier ways for people to report concerns?; what do we do when someone reports something informally or off the record?; and how do we learn from past incidents to prevent future harm?
Prepare for contract changes
Changes to collective redundancy rules mean that the maximum protective award doubles to 180 days’ pay from 90 per employee, creating considerable financial risk for organisations that get this wrong.
Chadwick at HR-inform argues that “if you’ve got niggles in your contract, change them now” – not just in advance of the Employment Rights Bill, but because economic headwinds could lead to financial difficulties and changes to headcount. “It will become harder to make changes to contracts in the future because you will have to justify that it is unavoidable. So change them now,” she told Festival of Work delegates.
However, other specialists suggest that employers should leave contract changes for now. “There’s no point until we have secondary legislation,” says Grace Pariser, an HR consultant.
Marie Hart, an HR support and workplace mediation consultant, agrees, adding: “I wouldn’t recommend rushing to change contracts just yet, until there is clarity on the final detail. That said, there’s still plenty HR teams can be doing to get ahead.
“HR teams can also be using this time to review their systems, particularly how absence and probation are tracked. Making a few changes now will make it much easier to respond quickly when changes do come in.”
Build mediation capabilities
The Bill will grant trade unions a statutory right to access workplaces for recruitment, organising and collective bargaining. This includes the introduction of e-balloting, doubling the expiry period of ballot mandates and reduced notice periods for industrial action.
These major changes to the industrial relations framework will feel new to many private sector employers, says Steve Webster, client engagement lead at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. “Building capabilities for collective bargaining, negotiation etc, should certainly be on the short- to mid-term to-do list,” he advises.
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