The Employment Rights Bill is back under the microscope. First published in October 2024, the Bill is now subject to a raft of proposed amendments, which continues to grow daily. The outcomes to the accompanying consultation exercises on various elements of the government’s proposals have also been published as follows:
- Making Work Pay: Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay
- Making Work Pay: collective redundancy and fire and rehire
- Making Work Pay: creating a modern framework for industrial relations
- Making Work Pay: the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers
- Tackling non-compliance in the umbrella company market
Notable headlines so far include the following:
- Right to Statutory Sick Pay (from first day): to be set at 80 per cent of average weekly earnings or the current rate of Statutory Sick Pay – £118.75 from next month – whichever is lower.
- Collective redundancies:
- Maximum “protective award” increasing from 90 days to 180 days uncapped pay where the employer has failed to inform and consult about the redundancies.
- “One establishment” wording, included in current legislation, which was due to be scrapped, will remain, subject to a new threshold to be confirmed at a future date.
- Further guidance for employers on collective consultation processes to be issued.
- Maintenance of holiday entitlement and pay records: employers to keep records that show adequate compliance with the law. These are to be retained for six years.
- Govt. enforcement powers: bolstered to increase the new Fair Work Agency’s reach, including the investigation of a wider range of holiday pay complaints.
- Zero hours: extending the “right to request regular hours” contract rules to agency workers.
- Umbrella companies: to be subject to increased regulation, following being brought under scope of the existing Employment Agencies Act 1973.
- Trade Unions and industrial action:
- Increase of the seven day notice period for industrial action to 10 days.
- Mandates to expire after 12 months instead of six months.
Outside of the written amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, re-affirmed on Tuesday 4 March the “right to switch off” will be set out in a statutory code during this Parliament.
What next?
The Bill is due to have its third reading on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 March. For the time being, it’s a case of remaining mindful of the potential reform that is forthcoming, whilst recognising that the provisions remain subject to change.
We continue to monitor the Bill’s journey through the House of Commons and will provide further updates as matters develop.
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