Labour’s Employment Rights Bill has passed its last parliamentary hurdle and is set to become law before Christmas, with a variety of new measures for workers.
Although there has been a major shake-up of workers’ rights with the new bill, there are still some missing elements that people wanted to become law.
The bill is one of Labour’s most significant pieces of proposed legislation since last year’s election.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has previously described the bill as ‘the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation’, which will soon be ‘boosting living standards and bringing with it an upgrade to our growth prospects and the reforms our economy so desperately needs’.
But Martin McTague, chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said 92% of his group’s members were ‘very concerned’ about the bill, with two-thirds saying they will avoid taking on future employees because of it.
Here are the big changes that are proposed in the Employment Rights Bill, which is expected to gain royal assent this week.
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Sick pay
People who are off work ill will be entitled to sick pay from the first day they take off, under the new legislation.
A new rate for Statutory Sick Pay will be established, which will make it available to those earning below £123 a week for the first time.
Those workers will either get 80% of their average weekly earnings or the current rate of Statutory Sick Pay (currently £116.75) – whichever is lower.
Zero-hours contracts
The bill requires workers on zero-hours contracts to be offered a contract with guaranteed minimum hours, though they can stick with their original terms if they prefer.
Following the weeks-long consultations, the government announced today agency workers will be included in this measure.
Employers, including agencies, will need to give ‘reasonable notice’ of shifts and provide proportionate pay if shifts are cancelled or rearranged at short notice.
Day-one rights
Under the legislation, workers will have protection from unfair dismissal – for example, if it’s related to sex or race discrimination – from their first day in the job.
Employers will have a nine-month statutory probation period when a ‘lighter-touch dismissal process applies’, the government said.
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will also be made available for employees from day one.
The Guardian has reported that a right to bereavement leave will be granted to parents who have suffered a miscarriage.
Trade unions
Ballots for union recognition can currently go ahead only if 10% of the workforce is a union member, but this could be lowered under the plans.
According to BBC News, an amendment will be introduced that does not explicitly fix a new threshold for this but gives the secretary of state the ability to lower it.
Meanwhile, the government also wants to narrow the notice period unions must give before they take industrial action, from 14 days to 10 days.
Fire and rehire
‘Fire and rehire’ is the term given to the practice of sacking a worker then immediately hiring them again with worse terms.
The government is aiming to tackle this by considering any dismissals for failing to agree to a change in contract as automatically unfair, though the granting of some flexibility to struggling businesses was discussed in committee.
BBC News also reported that employers could be forced to pay the worker 180 days’ worth of pay if they do not properly consult, double the current 90-day penalty payment.
What is not included in the Employment Rights Bill?
Labour had previously proposed a ‘right to switch off’ element to the bill to improve work-life balance for workers across the UK.
Since the pandemic, which allowed a change in flexible and remote working practices in many workplaces, lines between work and home life have been blurred.
The initial proposal planned to prevent homes from ‘turning into 24/7 offices.’
This would include stopping employers from contacting staff out of hours via phone calls, texts and emails.
The commitment to create a ‘single status of worker’ has also been scrapped from the bill.
This aimed to increase protection for people who are classed as self-employed, but largely work for one employer, who have fewer entitlements than other employees.
It is understood that these not included measures will be revisited at a later date due to legal complexities.
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