The new government confirmed that it would bring forward an Employment Rights Bill in the King’s Speech today (17 July) – legislation that will ‘ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights’.
Most of the measures were trailed in the Labour Party’s pre-election manifesto, but a briefing note issued by Number 10 has provided some more details of exactly what the Bill will contain.
The Bill will be introduced during the first 100 days of the new parliament, in what the government is calling “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.
The government said the Bill will:
Ban zero-hour contracts: Legislation will ensure workers have a right to contract reflecting the number of hours they regularly work, with reasonable notice of any change in shift patterns. This will put an end to “one-sided flexibility”, the government said.
End Fire and Rehire or Fire and Replace: the government will reform the law to provide effective remedies and replace the previous statutory code, which it describes as “inadequate”.
Provide day-one rights on parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal for all workers, although employers will be able to operate probationary periods while they assess new hires.
Remove the lower earnings limit on Statutory Sick Pay so it is available to all workers, and get rid of the three-day waiting period. Currently, 1.5m people earn below the lower earnings limit (£123 per week).
Make flexible working the default from day one for all workers, with “employers required to accommodate this as far as is reasonable”.
Make it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work, “except in specific circumstances”.
Establish a new Single Enforcement Body, the Fair Work Agency, to monitor the enforcement of workplace rights.
Set up a Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector. If this works, it will assess whether such agreements could work in other sectors.
Reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body to establish national terms and conditions, career progression and pay rates for teachers and other school staff.
Remove “unnecessary restrictions” on trade union activity, including the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, to ensure industrial relations are based around “good faith negotiation and bargaining”.
Simplify the process of statutory recognition to ensure workers have a reasonable right to access a union in their place of work.
Reaction
Elements of Labour’s New Deal for Working People have been discussed for years, and some of the ideas have been around even longer. The full detail will follow, but what is the reaction among commentators in the sector?
Ben Willmott, head of public policy for the CIPD, welcomed the aims of the Bill.
“Plans to introduce day-one employment rights and other employment law changes will need thorough consultation with employers, and potentially compromise in places, to ensure any changes have a positive impact on workplace practices and employment opportunities,” he said.
“It’s crucial that changes to employment legislation don’t discourage employers from taking on permanent staff or providing flexible employment opportunities that can benefit people who need to fit work around care, study or health needs for example.”
Labour employment agenda
Labour government sets out to deliver bold employment agenda
Katherine Flower, partner at law firm Burges Salmon, said the timeframe would be top of mind for employers, given the ambitious programme of change.
“Labour’s extensive plans for employment law reform are already a hot topic of conversation for business,” she said. “For all employers, the prospect of day-one rights for unfair dismissal is a particular area of focus.”
“Employers are already starting to rethink recruitment processes and their use of probationary periods in light of this. In certain sectors, including hospitality and healthcare, the proposed conflation of employee and worker status is another proposal giving plenty of food for thought.”
Kirsty Thompson, employment partner at Devonshires, warned that the legislation could lead to “a wave of employment tribunal claims against employers”.
“This could be a distraction and disincentive for employers to grow, which is what the government really wants to achieve, and a disaster for the employment tribunal which is already overworked and under-resourced,” she said.
“Increased delays in the litigation process will mean stressful employment claims hanging over employers for even longer, even when the claims are spurious.”
Skills England Bill
A separate Skills England Bill will “simplify and improve” the skills system in England and Wales and break down barriers to opportunity, the government said.
This will transfer the work of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to a new body, Skills England.
Skills England will work with industry, the Migration Advisory Committee, unions and a new Industrial Strategy Council to build a “single picture of national and local skills needs”.
The apprenticeship levy will become the Growth and Skills Levy, and Skills England will identify the training for which the levy can be used.
Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
An additional Bill is designed to offer “the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people” through the introduction of mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting.
This will apply to larger employers with more than 250 employees and will make it easier for people in these groups to bring equal pay claims. This will apply to all of the UK, mirroring existing gender pay reporting and equal pay legislation.
Harriet Edwards, head of policy at the national disability charity Sense, said this could be a good first step.
“This bill should only be the start. The government needs to follow this up with further action to tackle the unfair treatment of disabled people at work, such as reforming the Disability Confident scheme so that it is not just a tick-box exercise.
“It’s also vital that the government gives more specialist support to disabled jobseekers who want to enter work, including by making sure every JobCentre has the specialist assistive technology some disabled people need to use the computers onsite.”
On top of the planned legislative changes detailed here, prime minister Keir Starmer also promised to deliver a “genuine living wage that accounts for the cost of living”, removing age bands so all working people qualify. Further details of this will be revealed in due course.
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