Amendments to the Employments Rights Bill

5th December, 2024 by Nick Benton

The Government published the Employment Rights Bill in October 2024, comprising the biggest change to employment rights in almost 30 years. The wide-ranging and extensive proposals touch on many aspects of employment rights. Taking this a step further, the Government has now released an amendment paper which contains further proposed changes.

Read on for the details of the proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, as well as a reminder of the key proposals which had already been set out.

On 10 October 2024, the Government introduced the Employment Rights Bill (the “Bill”) in Parliament, which included the following key measures:

“Day one” unfair dismissal rights;
Banning “fire and rehire” practices, except where they are necessary for the business to continue operating and cannot reasonably be avoided;
Increasing protective awards in respect of collective redundancies from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay per affected employee, or lifting the cap in its entirety;
Ending “exploitative” zero-hour contracts;
A requirement for any refusals of flexible working requests to be reasonable and justified by employers;
Removing the three-day waiting period and lower earnings limit for statutory sick pay;
Expanding employer duties to prevent harassment of staff;
Expanding protections for pregnant women and new mothers returning to work, including protection from dismissal whilst pregnant, on maternity leave and within six months of returning to work;
Removing the qualifying periods for paternity leave, parental leave and bereavement leave, making them “day one” rights;
Introducing rights for trade unions to access workplaces for recruitment and organising purposes;
Repealing many provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016, as well as the minimum service levels required for certain public services as set out in the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023; and
Enhancing new and existing enforcement powers.

Consultations on four topics (strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and “fire and rehire”; zero hours contracts; trade union legislation; and statutory sick pay) also launched in October 2024 and will close in early December 2024, with more consultations due to start in 2025.

Crucially, each of the proposals set out in the Bill needs to be considered in the light of impact assessments, which aim to guide and justify the proposals. These assessments are overseen by the Regulatory Policy Committee (“RPC”), who on 26 November 2024 issued a critical opinion that 8 of the 23 impact assessments are not fit for purpose, including those affecting:

“Day one” unfair dismissal rights;
Changes to flexible working;
Introducing protections against harassment by third parties;
Establishing a Fair Pay Agreement;
Repealing much of the Trade Union Rights Act 2016; and
Repealing the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023;

The RPC recommended that, given the number and reach of the measures, it would be proportionate to undertake labour market and broader macroeconomic analysis, to understand the overall impact on employment, wages and output, and particularly the pass-through of employer costs to employees.

Although the Government has yet to respond to the RPC’s negative view of the Bill, it published an amendment to the Bill on 27 November 2024, which includes the following proposed changes:

Extending the time limit for bringing all Employment Tribunal claims from 3 months to 6 months, which would be a very significant change;
Changing the definition of the “initial period of employment” in relation to day one unfair dismissal rights to between 3 and 9 months;
Changing the provisions relating to guaranteed hours of work;
Changing the rules relating to pay when shifts are cancelled or moved on short notice, including giving Employment Tribunals the discretion to award compensation;
Changing the definition of “matters related to gender equality” to include menstrual problems and disorders, and potentially requiring employers to produce equality action plans in respect of this;
Clarifying that the right of Trade Unions to access the workplace will not cover a workplace with is also a place of residence;
Allowing non-disclosure agreements to be void to the extent that they prevent an employee or worker from making a disclosure about harassment; and
Prohibiting the use of substitution clauses in contracts with employees, workers or dependent contractors.

The level of criticism by the RPC, combined with the proposed amendments to the Bill, do raise concerns about the Bill, and particularly whether it was “rushed” to be introduced within the Government’s first 100 days, without enough analysis of the impact of the Bill taking place. Nevertheless, the Bill has progressed through the first and second readings to the Committee stage within the House of Commons. We will therefore again need to “watch this space” to see how the proposals unfold as the consultations are completed and the Bill progresses through the legislative process.

Nick Benton comments:

The changes set out in the Employment Rights Bill are substantial and expansive. It is unclear which of the proposals will ultimately make it into law; however the recently published amendments indicate that there are likely to be more reforms to the Bill in the pipeline. Although it is likely that many of the proposals will not come into effect until 2026, employers should keep up to date with the proposals and consultations as the Bill advances its way into law.

If you have any questions in respect of the Employment Rights Bill or any of the upcoming changes, please contact a member of the team here.

The information on this site about legal matters is provided as a general guide only. Although we try to ensure that all of the information on this site is accurate and up to date, this cannot be guaranteed. The information on this site should not be relied upon or construed as constituting legal advice and Howes Percival LLP disclaims liability in relation to its use. You should seek appropriate legal advice before taking or refraining from taking any action.

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