The much-anticipated Employment Rights Bill was published earlier today. The second reading is due to take place on 21st October. We don’t know the commencement date for any of this new legislation but we aren’t expecting it to be anytime soon.

Here are some of the key provisions (this is not an exhaustive list):

  • Lots of things relating to zero-hours workers. The guaranteed hours provision (cl 1), the right to reasonable notice of shift (s2) and the right to payment for qualifying shifts cancelled at short notice. (cl 3)
  • Removal of predictable terms provisions (cl 5)
  • Flexible working – any refusal has to be reasonable and explained to the employee in writing with reference to the grounds of refusal. (cl 7)
  • The lower earnings threshold for SSP has been removed, as has the 3-day waiting period. (cl 8)
  • ‘Parental’ is removed from bereavement leave (cl 14)
  • Full liability for third party harassment (cl 16)
  • Protected disclosures – allegations of sexual harassment will be covered (cl 18)
  • The 2-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal has been removed, it will be a day one right, but limited to those who have already started work (cl 19 and Schedule 2)
  • Fire and Re-hire – it will be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing a contract variation. There is an exception for a genuine need to avoid serious financial issues that may threaten the business. (cl 22)
  • Collective redundancy – the number of employees affected is to be calculated across the whole business rather than just at one establishment (cl 23)
  • Equality action plan – regulations may require employers with over 250 employees to produce plans re: gender equality (cl 26)
  • The s1 statement must include a statement of union rights (cl 45)

Not everything from Labour’s pre-election ‘Make Work Pay’ document has made its way into the Employment Rights Bill. The government, acknowledging this, have separately set out ‘Next Steps’ outlining its future plans for reform in the areas not covered in today’s Bill.

This includes:

  • the right to switch off;
  • expanding the Equality (Race and Disparity) Bill to make it mandatory for large employers to report their ethnicity an disability pay gap;
  • a move towards a single status of worker and transition towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status;
  • and reviews into the parental leave and carers leave systems to ensure they are delivering for employers, workers and their loved ones.

Daniel Barnett has prepared a more detailed briefing note on the Bill which you can download for free from here.