Employment Rights Bill: What’s next?

During the King’s Speech, an Employment Rights Bill was promised by the Labour Government. The Bill aims to deliver on policies set out in the Plan to Make Work Pay. Commitments in the plan include banning exploitative zero-hour contracts; ending fire and rehire; strengthening statutory sick pay; making parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal available from day one for all workers; and making flexible working the default from day one.

The Bill has not been introduced yet, but Labour have promised to introduce it within 100 days of entering Government. Ahead of that, this week, the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds convened a meeting with trade unions and business leaders to discuss the plans.

Looking at the attendance list, it appears that Ministers have tried to balance the competing interests of unions and businesses. Attendees included the Trades Union Congress, Unite, UNISON, Unite, and the GMB, along with business groups such as the CBI, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, and the Institute of Directors.

Trade unions welcomed the proposed changes, viewing them as a chance to improve pay and job security. The TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak welcomed the meeting as ‘an important chance for unions and businesses to discuss the shared gains that the government’s reforms will bring’.

However, business groups were more cautious and asked the Government not to rush without consultation on the specifics of the Bill. FSB’s Tina McKenzie, said she hopes they will ‘soon start a proper, meaningful and constructive engagement process as it moves from campaigning into practical policy making’. She also hopes ‘the Government starts to demonstrate it is prepared to try and reduce harm to employment, small business, and the economy from any and every negative impact of these proposals’. Similarly, CBI’s and IoD’s representatives also said further consultation would be crucial.

Finding a balance between competing interests will be a challenge for Labour to tackle in the next few months. According to a Government press release, ‘trade union and business representatives will be invited to continue engagement on the Plan to Make Work Pay via similar meetings, as well as share vital insights via the upcoming consultations’.

All of the proposals represent a considerable departure from current practices, and officials will have to think carefully about the detail, what exceptions may apply, how the reforms will work in practice, and how they will be implemented.

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