There has been a lot of news coverage in recent days regarding major employment reforms promised by Labour in their general election manifesto.
This coverage has picked up pace in the last 24 hours with the Employment Rights Bill being introduced into Parliament today, including a whopping 28 new measures to improve worker rights. this is on top of another 30 pledges, which currently have no timetable for delivery.
Perhaps the biggest change promised is that relating to unfair dismissal rights, granting workers protection from unfair dismissal from the first day of their employment, ending the existing two-year qualifying period.
The measure will be accompanied by a statutory probation period of up to nine months for new hires, during which staff can be dismissed under a “lighter touch” process. The devil will really be in the detail here and it will interesting to see how this measure in particular will come to fruition given the tough balancing act labour have in strengthen workers rights without hindering economic growth.
New employment right
Measures in the bill to be introduced today include:-
The right to statutory sick pay from the first day of illness, ending the current three-day waiting period, and removing the lower earnings limit;
Day-one rights to paid and unpaid paternity leave. Currently fathers have to be employed for 26 or 52 weeks respectively to receive the benefits, and there will be a new statutory right to bereavement leave;
The right to flexible working. Where employers say no they will have to demonstrate the decision is reasonable against eight criteria;
A ban on “exploitative zero hours contracts”. Workers on zero or short-hours contracts will have to be offered a contract based on the hours worked in a 12-week reference period, receive notice of shift patterns and entitlement to payment for short-notice cancellation.
Conspicuous by their absence are promised measures are the introduction of a single category of worker and the “right to switch off” which would have prevented employers contacting staff outside working hours.
However, employers need not to unduly concerned just yet – these measures are not likely to come into law until late 2026.
In the meantime, Labour will have to strike a balancing act between keeping unions happy that workers will enjoy increased protections, whilst also ensuring that business confidence is not damaged, nor economic growth hindered.
As such, the intervening months will be an interesting watch for employment lawyers and HR professionals alike.
If you are an employer or employee concerned about the affect of these proposals and want advice or support in connection with the same, or any employment law or HR issues more generally, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.
Our Employment Law team is headed up by Lloyd Clarke, a Partner of the firm, who oversees a team of lawyers and paralegals who would be happy to assist. Please call: 01206 766333 or contact Lloyd on [email protected]
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