The Employment Rights Bill – the developments so far
Following the publication of the Employment Rights Bill on 10 October 2024, there continues to be a flurry of activity from the Government as it pushes ahead with delivering on its commitment to introduce the biggest shake up in employment law for decades.
The key developments so far include:
Factsheets
On 18 October 2024, the Government published ten ‘factsheets’ (available here) to give further detail on the measures included within the Bill.
Second reading of the Bill in Parliament
The Bill had its second reading in Parliament on 21 October 2024. It has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee which will scrutinise the Bill line by line and is expected to report back to Parliament on it by 21 January 2025. As widely reported in the press, the Bill’s economic assessment report prepared by the Government for the Bill’s second reading predicts that it will cost businesses up to £5bn a year to implement. As expected, there are a range of views on both sides of the political fence as to whether this represents value to society as a whole.
The Government also launched the following consultations on 21 October 2024:
Changes to Statutory Sick Pay
This consultation seeks views on the percentage replacement rate for those earning below the current rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). This follows on from provisions in the Bill which, as well as making SSP payable from the first day of absence, extends eligibility to those earning below the Lower Earnings Limit. The changes introduced by the Bill mean that for some low earners, their rate of SSP will be calculated as a percentage of their earnings instead of a flat weekly rate. The consultation is seeking views on what the percentage rate should be, with no specific proposals having been put forward by the Government. The consultation closes on 4 December 2024.
Strengthening the remedies available for collective redundancy and fire and rehire
For collective redundancies, the Government is seeking views via a consultation on a proposal to increase the maximum protective award for a failure to comply with collective redundancy consultation. The Government has said it is considering the following options:
- increase the maximum amount that a tribunal can award from 90 to 180 days; or
- removing the cap on the protective award entirely.
It is also seeking views on whether interim relief should be available to employees who make a claim for a protective award. The Government suggests that an award for interim relief would mean that an employee would continue to be paid pending the determination of their claim, but only if the employee can show that it is likely that their employer breached collective redundancy obligations.
In respect of fire and rehire, the Bill stipulates that employers can only use the practice of fire and rehire if they can demonstrate that they were facing financial difficulties that threatened their viability, and that changing an employee’s contract was unavoidable (e.g. it was the only way to prevent insolvency). Following on from this, the Government is seeking views on whether interim relief should be available to employees bringing an unfair dismissal claim under the new right. This would mean that an employee bringing an unfair dismissal claim in a fire and rehire scenario could be awarded interim relief and continue to be paid, but only if they can show it is ‘likely’ that their unfair dismissal claim would be successful.
This consultation closes on 2 December 2024.
Zero hour contract provisions and agency workers
This consultation is seeking views on whether to extend the provisions of the Bill with respect to zero hour contracts (i.e. the right to guaranteed hours and a right to reasonable notice of shifts and payment for cancelled or curtailed shifts) to agency workers. The consultation will close on 2 December 2024.
Trade union reform
Finally, this consultation is seeking views on the proposed trade union reform, including:
- simplifying the amount of information unions are required to provide in industrial action notices
- strengthening provisions to prevent unfair practices during the trade union recognition process
- reducing the industrial action notice period
- the enforcement mechanism for right of access
Our previous article on the extensive provisions of the Bill is available here.
Our employment law specialists will be discussing the impact of the Bill’s reforms in a webinar next month. Keep an eye on your inbox for further details soon.
John Macaulay will also be posting a series of strategic insights on LinkedIn over the coming weeks. Click here for John’s profile, if you’re not already connected.
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