The new government has confirmed it will ban ‘exploitative’ work practices through a new Employment Rights Bill in today’s King’s Speech.
In the first state opening of parliament since Keir Starmer became prime minister, King Charles outlined Labour’s plans to “make work pay”.
He said the government would “legislate to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights”. This will form an Employment Rights Bill.
While full details of the Bill are yet to be revealed, it is likely to cover a number of the workers’ rights pledges contained in Labour’s pre-election manifesto:
- Day one rights for unfair dismissal, subject to a probation period
- Making flexible working a default right from day one
- Enhanced redundancy protections for employees on or returning from maternity leave
- A ban on employers ‘firing and rehiring’ staff under less favourable terms and conditions.
- A ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts
- Improvements to statutory sick pay and the minimum wage
- Reform on collective redundancy consultation meaning employers must count staff across every location
- Greater protection for whistleblowers
- Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, which allows some employers to compel employees to work during a strike.
- Changes to trade union engagement, allowing members to use secure electronic balloting.
In addition to commitments on eradicating exploitative practices, the King said the new government would publish legislation on race equality to “enshrine the full right to equal pay in law” through a new draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
This Bill is likely to cover a requirement for employers to publish ethnicity and disability pay gaps if they have 250 or more staff – a measure that was rejected by the previous government.
The government will also establish a body called Skills England, which will work in closer partnership with employers, and will introduce reforms to the apprenticeship levy.
King Charles added that the government would “seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models”.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said: “We have to be clear – businesses are worried that the government will rush reforms to the labour market and do more harm to workers than good.
“Our focus should be on improving the daily lives of workers while helping firms grow, not ticking things off a list quickly. From the national minimum wage to pensions automatic enrolment, Labour governments have shown that big changes can be successfully delivered when a proper partnership with business is created.”
Carberry urged the new government to properly engage with the private sector on employment relations, not just unions.
He added: “Businesses are not opposed to the government’s plans – but the failure of the apprenticeship levy shows what happens when government imposes solutions that don’t work in reality. We welcome today’s commitment to reforming the levy, which is long overdue.
“Flexibility matters to millions of workers across the UK. Changes that restrict choice and opportunity for workers must be avoided as they will undermine both the fight against inactivity and the quest for growth.
A collaborative approach with business on these policies can ensure changes are grounded in people’s daily lives, so they are pro-worker and pro-business.”
In advance of the speech, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said it was “vital that the King’s Speech contains substantial and ‘oven ready’ legislation to deliver Labour’s New Deal for Working People. Words alone are not enough”.
Labour employment agenda
Labour government sets out to deliver bold employment agenda
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said he hoped the Bill would be “transformative” for workers and that removing zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire would “level the playing field”.
“Working people rightly expect Keir Starmer to use the King’s Speech to clearly map out a specific timescale for fulfilling the manifesto commitment and repeated promises made ahead of the general election on workers’ rights.”
Paddy Lillis, general secretary of shopworkers’ union Usdaw, said his members would like to see “an employment bill that delivers the promised new deal for workers to make work pay, which includes transformative policies to turn the minimum wage into a genuine living wage, remove discriminatory age bands and deliver new rights to make work more secure.”
There had been suggestions that Labour would curb companies’ ability to access foreign workers if they repeatedly breached employment law, but this did not feature in today’s announcements.
Similarly, Labour has hinted it would look into creating a single status of ‘worker’ that would cover everyone except the genuinely self-employed, but any consultation on this is yet to be announced.
Other major legislation announced included legislation to bring the rail network back into public ownership and a ‘Better Bus Bill’ that would devolve greater powers to local leaders to franchise bus services.
Earlier this week, a survey by the TUC revealed that voters from across the political spectrum supported Labour’s plans on workers’ rights.
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