The Employment Rights Bill was introduced to Parliament last month and it’s been described as “the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation”. The Bill sets out 28 measures from the proposals in the Government’s plan to Make Work Pay (MWP). Other changes in MWP will come in under existing powers outside of the Bill. Immediate consultation on four areas will inform Government amendments to the Bill at Committee Stage in January 2025, whilst consultation on other measures will continue during 2025. The changes are expected to come into force from 2026.
Let’s look at the key changes:
- Zero hours contracts: The right to reasonable notice of shifts, compensation for cancelled shifts, and right to be offered a contract with guaranteed hours.
- Flexible working – The 8 reasons for refusal of flexible working requests remain, but there’s a higher bar for employers to justify it.
- Statutory sick pay – Will be a day one right. The Bill will remove the three-day waiting period and the lower earnings limit test for eligibility.
- Family leave – Removes the qualifying period for paternity leave, parental leave, and gives wider access to bereavement leave.
- Protection from harassment – Expands employers’ duties to prevent harassment of staff, including by third parties.
- Unfair dismissal – Removes the two-year qualifying period (so employees are protected from unfair dismissal from the first day of employment), subject to a statutory probationary period.
- Fire and rehire –Unfair to dismiss workers because they refuse to agree to a variation of contract unless the employer can prove it would result in insolvency.
- Sectoral collective bargaining on pay and conditions: starts with Adult Social Care.
- Trade unions – Introducing rights for trade unions to access workplaces and repealing the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and most provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016.
- Enforcement – Bringing together powers of existing labour market enforcement bodies, along with some new powers, under the Secretary of State and enforcement officers
Looking beyond The Employment Rights Bill, the Government has recognised the complexity of the Single Status of Worker proposal, which aims to improve pay and conditions for working people. This is not included in the Bill, although the Government remains committed to this as a longer-term priority and plans to consult on a simplified framework in due course. The Right to Switch Off has probably caught the eye of many but this will now be delivered through a statutory code of practice.
The Government’s own Impact Assessment estimates that the changes outlined within The Employment Rights Bill, could be an additional cost to business of up to £5bn per year. There will be an expected disproportionate impact on smaller businesses and low pay sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail. The net impact on growth is predicted to be ‘small’. Suggested benefits include improving workforce participation and wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity and creating a more level playing field for good employers.
At a local level, what will the changes mean to your business? What is the risk and/or impact of these changes for employers and employees across Staffordshire? These are significant changes to the employment rights landscape and we want to hear from you and how the changes could impact your business.
Please send me your feedback/comments to :
declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
if you’re a member of Staffordshire Chambers’ of Commerce with an interest in employment law, skills or HR, why not join our next Employment, Skills and HR forum, which meets again on Friday 6th December at 9AM. Click below to book your place:
