We got our first view of the Employment Rights Bill back in October 2024, but we've recently seen an ammedment to the originally proposed bill. The new 53 page document gives more clarification to the original bill and makes changes to the original draft. Billed as one of the biggest changes to employment law in the UK, the Government has also launched consultations into the changes including reviewing the proposals related to sick pay, collective redundancies and the proposed reforms to fire and rehire practices. Below is a summary of some the changes that the amendment bill proposes ;
Tribunal Time Limit to be Extended
Currently where employees wish to bring an employment tribunal claim against a company they have 3 months (minus 1 day) from the date the issue occured to bring a claim. The new amendment proposes to double this time period to 6 months. This provision wasn't included in the original bill, and will undoubtedly provide employees with a lot more flexibility when it comes to bringing claims, could also give more space for employers and employees to find a resolution before things make it to tribunal or just provide more time for uncertainty to set in.
Initial periods of employment
Where the original bill proposed to make unfair dismissal a day one right, a huge change for how we do things in the UK, the amendment makes it clearer that over an initial employment period, at the start of the employees employment, of 3-9 months employers will have the ability to follow less onerous processes if they feel a dismissal may take place, essentially imposing a statutory probationary period.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
The new amendment proposes that any clauses within non-disclosure agreements that prevent claims of harassment or sexual harrasment should be void. In our view this is a positive step forward supporting the Metoo movement within legislation.
Substitution Clauses
Removing substitution clauses from agreements between contractors and employers. This means that clauses where contractors are able to substitute themselves will no longer be valid in contracting agreements. These provisions have been staples within standard contracting agreements as they help to differentiate between employees and contractors, so it will be interesting to see how this particular amendment progresses.
Trade Union Access
The original bill proposed Trade Union Officials having access to work premises for the purpose of union duties, the amendment clarifies that this doesn't apply to premises that are also dwellings. Whilst we'd like to think most people would see this as obvious, it's great to see this further clarified to protect people's privacy.
What happens next?
The amendment document will be reviewed and debated and will most likely form part of the full Employment Rights Bill when it becomes law. Given how big these changes are, we're likely to see these changes filter into law over 2025 and 2026.
Want to know more?
You can review the fill amendment paper here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0011/amend/employment_rights_rm_pbc_1127.pdf
More details about all the proposed changes are also summarised really well here: https://www.rec.uk.com/our-view/insights/legal-news-and-views/how-will-updates-employment-rights-bill-affect-recruitment-businesses
You can review the Government consultations on the proposed changes here:
Employment Tribunal Time Limits https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-tribunal-time-limits#:~:text=If%20you're%20thinking%20about,1%20day%20–%20for%20most%20claims
Check out our recent video for more details:
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Disclaimer
All information within the post is provided for guidance only; always seek your own legal advice.
The information with this post was correct at the time of publishing, December 2024 but may be subject to change.
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