The Labour Party made its New Deal for Working People a central theme of its election manifesto. With its victory in the July general election, significant employment law reforms are now expected.
On 17 July 2024, the King’s Speech announced two key bills on employment law: the Employment Rights Bill and the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. The two bills will enact the primary legislation needed to introduce the changes and will be launched in October 2024. To see the stages of how a Bill is introduced and then becomes law, see this guide on the Houses of Parliament website.
As a law firm centred on social justice and workers’ rights, we believe that the proposed legislation represents a significant step towards improving the situation for workers across the UK. It is refreshing to welcome an Employment Rights Bill that can change things for the better for working people after over a decade of regression in workers’ rights under Conservative and Coalition governments.
Further details of these proposals will become known over the coming months, as well as how the government intends to implement them. Whilst the exact content of the Bill won’t be known until it is published, the changes to employment are expected to include the following:
Trade Unions and Industrial Action
According to ‘Make Work Pay,’ Labour will grant trade unions regulated access to workplaces to recruit and organise, including digital access for remote workers. This will strengthen employees' ability to join and participate in unions. In addition, employers will need to inform employees of their right to join a trade union regularly.
Labour also proposes simplifying the process for unions to gain recognition, removing current vote and support thresholds to facilitate union representation.
Labour also proposes repealing the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and the Trade Union Act 2016, easing restrictions on industrial action and introducing electronic balloting. Conservative legislation over the last 14 years continued to erode the rights of trade unions, including the right to strike. Thompsons has been vocal about this and has been involved in legal action to seek to have aspects of the minimum service levels legislation declared unlawful; as such, we are delighted that a repeal of this harmful piece of legislation, attacking the right to strike, is proposed. Read more here.
Day One Right Not to Be Unfairly Dismissed
The Employment Rights Bill aims to protect employees from unfair dismissal from their first day on the job, a significant shift from the current two-year requirement. Read more here.
Restrictions on ‘Fire and Rehire’
Labour plans to curb the practice of ‘fire and rehire’ (the practice of an employer sacking employees and then re-engaging them under new, invariably worse, terms). Labour promises 'effective remedies' through the Employment Rights Bill; it is suggested that if such practices are allowed at all, it will only be as a last resort to keep businesses viable. Again, the details of how this will work remain to be seen. Read more here.
Thresholds for Redundancy Consultation
Labour intends to change the law so redundancy consultations are triggered based on total business redundancies, not just site-specific numbers. This would align the UK with many EU countries and require businesses to monitor redundancy numbers closely. Read more here.
Zero Hours Contracts and Predictability
Labour plans to ban ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts and to introduce a right to an average-hours contract based on a 12-week reference period. This aims to provide employees with more predictable income and work schedules. The hope is that this will end asymmetrical flexibility in such arrangements, which benefitted employers but left employees in insecure work with no guaranteed employment and fluctuating income levels making it impossible to plan their finances or, for instance, obtain mortgages.
The proposed changes will include exceptions for seasonal work and overtime arrangements. Linked to this, the Bill should aim to ensure employees get reasonable notice for work schedules and fair compensation for cancelled shifts, which is often a significant issue for those on zero-hours contracts. Read more here.
Right to Flexible Working by Default
Labour wants flexible working to be a default from day one, and flexible working should be possible except where it’s not reasonably feasible. This would limit employers' ability to enforce inflexible hours and enhance employees' work-life balance, especially for parents and carers. Read more here.
