KEY UPDATE – New proposed changes to the Employment Rights Bill

What’s new?

The new proposed changes are split into two: (i) Government proposed amendments, which will almost certainly be taken forward; and (ii) non-government proposed amendments (i.e. made by members of Parliament), which are less likely to be taken forward.

The key government proposed amendments include:

• An increase in the time limit to bring all tribunal claims from three months to six months. Whilst this would extend the time available for resolving disputes, it could impact the quality/availability of witness evidence and create more uncertainty for employers
• Several changes to guaranteed hours workers:
  • A new duty on employers to:
    • take ‘reasonable steps’ to provide affected workers with specified information on guaranteed hours rights during an ‘initial information period’ and to ensure workers continue to have access to this information. The ‘initial information period’ will be a two-week period starting with either: the worker’s first day of employment; or the date that it is reasonable to consider the worker to qualify under the guaranteed hours rights; or the day the provision comes into force, if a qualifying worker is already employed on that date;
    • provide affected workers with a notice where a guaranteed hours offer has been treated as withdrawn or where an exception applies to making an offer of guaranteed hours; and
  • Changes to the rules on payments when shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice
• A requirement for trade unions to hold a ‘certificate of independence’ to benefit from the right to access employers’ workplaces. A workplace will not include any part of a workplace used as a dwelling
• Allowing the Secretary of State to cap the compensatory award for employees who are unfairly dismissed during the initial period of employment

The key non-government proposed amendments include:

• A duty on employers to provide an explanation as to how they are supporting employees with menstrual problems and menstrual disorders in their equality action plan
• A prohibition on any clause in an agreement preventing workers from making a disclosure about harassment
• A limitation on the initial period of employment for employees to be fairly dismissed to between three and nine months
• A prohibition on using substitution clauses allowing the individual to appoint a substitute to perform the work on their behalf in employment, worker or dependent contractor contracts
• Doubling the rate of statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental and parental bereavement pay and increasing statutory paternity leave from two weeks to six weeks
• A power for the Secretary of State to introduce regulations requiring employers with 250 or more employees to publish information about their parental leave and pay policies

What should you do now?

The proposed amendments will be considered by the Public Bill Committee who will report back to the House of Commons by 21 January 2025.

Keep an eye on your emails as we will continue to provide updates on the ERB and any amendments.

We will also be discussing the ERB in detail at our next Employment Law Now Live events in:

• London – Thursday 27 March 2025
• Peterborough – Tuesday 1 April 2025
• Cambridge – Thursday 3 April 2025

If you would like to attend, please sign-up here.

Please contact a member of our Employment team if you wish to discuss the contents of this article.