Labour's New Deal for Working People

And it has only just begun...

On 10 October 2024, the Government published the Employment Rights Bill 2024, promised within the first 100 days of the new Parliament with reforms including measures on ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts and ‘fire and rehire’ practices, and establishing protection from unfair dismissal, as well as entitlement to sick pay and parental leave rights from day one of employment.

As is apparent from the Government press release, this is only the start. Despite the Bill being 158 pages long, much of the crucial detail regarding the actual implementation of the Bill's provisions and what this will mean for employers will be subject to further consultation. The majority of reforms will take effect no earlier than 2026 with the unfair dismissal reforms taking effect no sooner than autumn 2026, although some trade union reforms to come into force two months after the Bill is passed.

On 26 November 2024, the Government tabled a number of amendments to the Bill, while some of the amendments are simply technical amendments to some of the Bill's provisions others are more significant tweaks such as making it a presumption that a zero-house contract is not for a limited term. We also have some very significant whole new provisions, such as the increase in the time limits for bringing an employment tribunal claim from three to six months.

While Government tabled amendments are highly likely to make it into the final version of the Act, we also have a number of MP proposed amendments, largely by Liberal Democrat MPs. MP proposals are for the large part proposed to highlight an issue but are usually withdrawn. On occasion, the Government may accept that a particular MP has a point and adopt (usually in amended form) the proposed amendment.

Employment Rights Bill version two

The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) completed the Committee stage on 16 January 2025 and the updated version of the ERB published on 27 January – now up to 199 pages. Over the course of 20 sittings, the Committee scrutinised the text of the draft ERB and considered more than 200 amendments. All the Government amendments have been agreed by the Committee. Many of the amendments are technical in nature though some are substantial such as the increase the limitation period for employment tribunal claims from three to six months. 

The ERB will now progress to its Report Stage and Third Reading. Further amendments may be considered at the Report Stage as selected by the Speaker of the House of Commons. No dates have yet been set for those stages.

Beyond the Employment Rights Bill

In November 2024, the Government published the 'Next Steps to Make Work Pay', outlining the time frame for the reforms set out in the Bill, as well as detailing additional reforms it will look to implement in the future, including:
  • Mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
  • A ‘right to switch off' Code of Practice.
  • A move towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status: worker or self-employed.
  • Reviews of the parental/carers leave systems.

In this article, we explore the Employment Rights Bill 2024 and other reforms keeping a close eye on legislative, consultation and political process and provide a continuous update on what is likely to happen and when, and what this will mean for you as an employer.

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This content is correct and up to date as of 3 February 2025.

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