The What?
Employment Rights Bill
The Employment Rights Bill is the vehicle for implementing the Labour Government’s promise to legislate to introduce what the King outlined as a 'new deal for working people, to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights'.
Meat has yet to be put on its bones, but it will include:
- Day 1 unfair dismissal rights (although there may be scope for probationary periods, during which a ‘lighter touch’ procedure applies);
- Ban on ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts;
- Restrictions on fire and rehire (and ‘fire and replace’, as per the P&O situation );
- A reform of employment status;
- Flexible working a default Day 1 right (a proposal the last Government considered but failed to implement);
- Establishing a new enforcement agency, the ‘Fair Work Agency’ (this could transform access to justice);
- New Union Friendly Rights
Draft Equality (Race and Disability ) Bill
Labour plans to introduce a draft bill to:
- extend the equal pay regime to cover race and disability (it currently applies only to sex);
- introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for employers with at least 250 members of staff.
And When?
The Employment Rights Bill is due to be introduced by 12 October 2024, suggesting this is when the final text will be put before Parliament. It is unclear whether there will be consultation prior to this. However, the Bill will need to pass through both Houses before becoming law, which could take months. At that point further ‘implementing measures’ are likely to be necessary before the laws take effect. All of which is to say, it is unlikely that the most significant changes, such as day 1 unfair dismissal rights, will become effective within the next 12 months.
The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill is at an earlier stage yet, with much of the content still to be determined. We can also see potential flaws in the proposals, which will need to be consulted on. As such, we think it unlikely this will become law in the very near future.