The Employment Rights Bill represents some of the biggest changes we've seen in Employment Law for quite some time. Introduced to parliament in October 2024, we're yet to see the bill become law but as it forms a fundamental part of Labours manifesto we're unlikely to see it challenged massively. The bill covers numerous provisions including changes in terms of how unions work and the public sector. This blog provides an overview of some of the key changes that the bill is likely to introduce, summarising over 150 pages of information #yourewelcome. Bear in mind this doesn't cover everything, if you want to have a look at the bill itself, there's a link below :)
Day One Rights
The bill will make the below rights available to employees from day one, at the moment employees need to have certain levels of service before they can claim these rights:
Unfair dismissal- currently employees need 2 years services before they are able to claim unfair dismissal. Unfair dismissal can be defined as a dismissal where they wasn't a fair reason for a dismissal happening, where there wasn't enough information to justify the dismissal or where the employer didn't follow a fair process when dismissing the individual. Whilst nestled away quite far down the bill, this change has a huge potential to have a massive impact on how employers manage probationary periods for UK based employees.
Paternity leave- 1-2 weeks leave for either the father of a child, the husband or partner of the mother or the adopter, the childs adopter or the intended parent,– this includes same-sex partners. At present employees need 26 weeks continuous service to be able to claim paternity leave.
Parental leave- unpaid time off to care for a child, at present employees need one years service before they can qualify for parental leave.
Bereavement leave- time off when someone experiences a death in the family, there's no current legal requirement to provide this to employees in the UK so making this a day one right represents a significant change. The Employment Bill, as it's currently written makes changes to the current provisions we have for parental bereavement leave to make them not just applicable to the deaths of children. Whilst a large change, most reputable employers already provide some sort of provision for leave when a loved one dies.
Changes around zero-hours contracts
These provisions are aimed at making sure that employees are treated fairly when on zero hours contracts. Specifically, the new provisions will place requirements onto employers where they need to provide notice of shifts and changes to those on zero hours contracts, or low hour contracts, and a requirement to pay them where shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice. Whilst zero hours contracts provide a huge level of flexibility, with the newly proposed changes employers will need to think more carefully about how they plan shifts and how they use these contracts in general.
Fire and Rehire
This provision is around stopping companies from dismissing employees if they don't sign contract provisions that they are not happy to sign up to. Fire and rehire has always been a contriversial practice, hitting the headlines in 2022, P&O sacked 800 employees via Zoom relying on the provisions. In July 2024 a code of practice on dismissal and reengagement was published and the new changes within the Employment Rights Bill take these further.
Dismissal following family leave
The bill proposes changes in terms of enhanced protection against dismissal during pregnancy and for six months upon return from leave for workers on maternity leave and on return from other statutory family leave.
Gender Pay Gap & Menopause
The bill proposes to expand gender pay gap requirements meaning larger employers, with more than 250 employees, will need to publish and implement an equality action plan showing the steps they are taking in relation to gender equality, which include addressing the gender pay gap and supporting employees through the menopause. Secondary legislation is likely to follow setting out various requirements that an equality action plan must meet.
Collective redundancy changes
This change is pretty technical but hopefully most organisations won't be in a position where they need to make multiple redundancies. With the current rules relating to collective redundancies, there needs to be a proposal to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at “one establishment” to trigger collective consultation and notification to the Secretary of State of the proposed redundancies. The bill removes the requirement that the redundancies be at one establishment, which means that any redundancy situation where 20 or more employees are dismissed within a period of 90 days will trigger collective consultation and notification to the Secretary of State. This change means that employers will need to carefully consider how they structure large scale redundancies to make sure they don't fall fowl of this requirement. Our recommendation would always be if in doubt, make sure you speak to an employer lawyer or HR specialist before approaching redundancy situations.
Sick Pay Changes
The bill proposes to remove the statutory waiting period and the lower earnings limit, which in practice means that employees will be eligible for statutory sick pay from day one of their sickness absence. Currently the first three days of someones sickness absence are classed as a waiting period and during this time employees dont need to be paid.
Sexual Harassment Changes
The bill brings in the following new requirements:
Employers will be required to take all reasonable steps to stop sexual harassment
A duty on employers to prevent harassment from third parties
Introduces a protection in terms of disclosures made about sexual harassment
This expands on The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 which we'll see coming into force towards the end of October 2024.
Changes relating to Unions & the Public Sector
Whilst I'm not an expert when it comes to Unions, the bill introduces a number of union related changes including:
New rules around pay and conditions for school support staff
Trade unions having access to workplaces
Dismissals for taking industrial action
Rules around tipping
This builds on the recent changes that we've seen within the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, meaning employers are required to have a policy around tipping which they need to consult with recognised union representatives or employees on and that they need to review on a regular basis.
Introducing the Fair Work Agency
A new state enforcement agency, likely to be the Fair Work Agency, is proposed by the bill. The new agency will combine current enforcement agencies including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the unit that polices the National Minimum Wage and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. Officers at the new agency will have inspection powers and will be able to enforce new penalties for those who breach employee rights – such as failure to pay holiday remuneration from day one of sickness and failure to pay a minimum wage. It will also have a role as a listening post for whistleblowers. Its powers will not be limited to the measures set out in the Employment Rights Bill but will also enforce current rights including the national minimum wage and certain aspects of the Modern Slavery Act.
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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, October 2024 but may be subject to change.
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