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A massive boost to workers’ rights: the new Employment Rights Bill

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Within the 100-day deadline promised in opposition, the Labour government today tabled an employment rights bill that takes vital first steps in improving working lives for millions of people. 

Unfair dismissal rights from the first day in the job, a clampdown on zero- and short-hours contracts, sick pay for all workers and beefed-up rights for unions to recruit and organise are among 28 key measures in the legislation. 

Companies will no longer be able to fire and rehire workers – unless they are on the brink of going bust. 

A loophole that allowed big chains to avoid consulting workers on planned job losses has been closed. 

And ideological anti-union laws introduced by recent Tory ministers, including the notorious minimum service levels rules that sought to force workers to break their own strikes, will be scrapped. 

Other measures such as giving trade unions the option to use electronic balloting, creating a single category of worker rights so some people aren’t condemned to second-class protections, and ensuring surveillance technology can’t be introduced behind workers’ backs are on track to be delivered in the coming months and years. 

The legislation is desperately needed 

The last 14 years have seen a surge in insecure work like zero-hours contracts. 

From the P&O Ferries sackings to the anti-union activities of Amazon, too many unscrupulous employers have been able to take advantage of weak worker protections. 

This hasn’t delivered the economic boost the free marketeers promised. 

Instead the economy has stuttered and wages have flatlined

Economists and labour market experts now recognise that strong labour protections are good for the economy

Meanwhile the coronavirus pandemic revealed that while most workers get full pay on days they are sick, millions get little or no support

Currently the UK lags behind equivalent countries in the strength of its employment law. These rights will mean workers here will benefit from an approach that is already the norm across many other developed economies. 

The changes are supported by the vast majority managers, as well as workers. For most bosses dislike the risk of being undercut by rivals willing to exploit the huge gaps in current protections. 

Key elements of the bill: 

Below we set out four key measures in the legislation 

Unfair dismissal 

The Bill confirms that no longer will employees have to wait two years for protection from unfair dismissal.  

It now kicks in on day one. But a new statutory probation period will apply – most likely for a maximum of nine months. 

But, unlike today, employers will have to identify reasons related to that person (not generic business reasons) for any dismissal. And there will have to be fair process in place, which will likely include a meeting with rights for a worker to be represented. 

There will be discussion to come on the details, but this is a significant step forward in giving security to workers at the sharp end of the labour market. 

One-sided flexibility 

Those working on short-hours or zero-hours contracts will be able to move to a contract that reflects the hours that they actually work.  

This will be based on their hours over a 12-week reference period. If their hours increase then they will be offered another. 

Rules are also to be introduced so that workers have decent notice of shifts and compensation if those shifts are cancelled. 

Agency workers will have these rights too. 

When it comes to implementation, notice of shifts must be set at a timescale that allows workers to plan their private lives. 

Trade union access 

The Bill contains important rights that will allow union officials to access workplaces to recruit, organise and represent workers. 

This will be crucial if unions are to organise in new parts of the economy where employers resist their workers gaining a collective voice. 

The legislation requires agreements to be signed between employers and unions, so it will be vital that the process doesn’t allow intransigent bosses to slow down the process with red tape. 

Fire and rehire 

The Bill starts to tackle the scourge of fire and rehire when bosses seek to boost profits by forcing workers to reapply for their existing jobs on poorer pay and conditions. 

The bill now says that any dismissal on that basis will be unfair unless affecting, or likely in the immediate future to affect, the employer’s ability to carry on the business as a going concern. 

The government is also to consult on lifting the cap of the protective award if an employer is found to not have properly followed the collective redundancy process as well as what role interim relief could play in protecting workers in these situations. 

What happens now? 

The Employment Rights Bill puts a framework in place for significant changes from giving workers on variable hours the right to a contract that reflects the hours they actually work, to ensuring union officials can access workplaces to talk to worker about the benefits of union organisation.  

It could take until the middle of next year for the Bill to pass Parliament.  

However, some areas of policy detail remain undecided. Much of this is likely to be settled while the Bill is being debated.  

Some will be consulted on as ministers determine how to use new powers contained in the Bill. 

Further measures, including the government's promise to merge employee and worker rights so that everyone who has an employer receives the same rights and protections, are also vital if the gap between secure and insecure forms of work are not to widen. 

Key measures in the Bill 

  • Unfair dismissal rights from day one in employment. 
  • The right to a contract reflecting your normal hours of work; decent notice of  
  • Employers will only be able to fire and rehire workers on worse terms when the alternative is going bust. 
  • A right to parental leave from day one of employment. 
  • Establishing the Fair Work Agency to ensure people get their rights. 
  • Bringing forward measures to modernise Trade Union laws, including a reduction in the threshold for a recognition application from 10 per cent of the workforce. 
  • A Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care. 
  • Reestablishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body, and re-instating the two-tier code for procurement. 
  • Increased protection from sexual harassment, introducing gender and menopause action plans and strengthening rights for pregnant workers. 
  • Removal of waiting days for Statutory Sick Pay and extending access to all workers, regardless of income. 

Some of the things to come 

  • A review of the parental leave system.  
  • A review of paid carers’ leave. 
  • A consultation on ensuring the introduction of surveillance technologies requires negotiations with trade unions and staff representatives.  
  • A framework for a single status of worker. 
  • Strengthen protections for the self-employed through a right to written contract; extending blacklisting protections and extending health and safety protections. This will be considered in the single ‘worker’ status consultation.  
  • A call for evidence on Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)  regulations and process.  
  • A review of health and safety guidance and regulations. 
  • A consultation with Acas on enabling employees to collectively raise grievances about conduct in their place of work.  
  • Action on procurement including a new National Procurement Policy Statement ahead of the commencement of the 2023 Procurement Act in February 2025.  
  • Extension of the Freedom of Information Act to private companies that hold public contracts and publicly funded employers.  
  • Delivering a right to switch off outside working hours through a statutory Code of Practice 
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