After some significant speculation over the last few months, including from the Employment Team here at Frettens, we now have a draft Employment Rights Bill to be put before Parliament.
In this article, Employment Associate Chris Dobbs summarises the proposed changes and looks at when they might come into force.
What is the Employment Rights Bill 2024?
What we have outlined below is only the headline features at this time. We will provide a more detailed analysis of some of the possible consequences and effects as part of our in-person event on 13th November with a follow-up for those unable to attend.
In and among the 158 pages of legal jargon, there are some key provisions which are (in the order they appear in the draft Bill):
- Provisions relating to zero-hours workers including:
- New rights for workers to be given reasonable notice of shifts;
- Payment for cancelled shifts at short notice;
- Guaranteed hours provision in relation to a reference period.
- Flexible working requests:
- Reasons for refusing a request still refer to the existing statutory list of grounds but the proposals add a requirement for refusal to be “reasonable” on the ground or grounds cited;
- New requirement for the employer to explain the ‘reasonableness’ of their rejection;
- No change to the existing penalty of up to 8 weeks’ pay.
Related: Flexible Working Bill passed - What does it mean for employers?
- Statutory Sick Pay
- Removal of the waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay Entitlement
- Removal of the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay
- Reference to “parental” is removed from the existing Bereavement Leave entitlement
- Enact section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 which would introduce third party harassment
- Provision for Regulations to define what may qualify as “reasonable steps” for the purposes of the preventative steps duty (sexual harassment)
- Disclosing alleged sexual harassment (for purposes of Equality Act) to be specifically included in the list of “protected disclosures” for whistleblowing
Related: How to manage bullying and harassment at work as an employer
- Unfair dismissal day one rights:
- Abolishes the qualifying period, so workers’ have unfair dismissal rights from day one;
- Excludes those who have not yet started work (i.e. employees cannot claim until they have done some work);
- Its implied that some regulations around an “initial period” will follow, which probably means the probationary period.
Related: Dismissals & Tribunal Claims - Everything Employers need to know
- Restricting Use of ‘Fire and Rehire’:
- Creates an automatically unfair ground of dismissal for refusal to accept a contract variation;
- Apart from very limited number of situations which would cause financial damage to the business;
- Requirement for consultation regardless.
- Collective redundancy consultation duty will kick in if 20 or more redundancies are proposed across the entire business, not just an “establishment”
Related: Redundancies - Key issues and your obligations as the employer
- Provisions to introduce scope for collective bargaining in adult social care sector and school non-teaching staff
- Section 1 statements include new provision for notifying employee of right to join a trade union
When is the new Employment Rights Bill coming into force?
Very little of the proposed changes are likely to happen immediately. Most of the significant amendments look unlikely to come into force for at least a couple of years and it may well be longer if the legislation itself spends a long time working its way through Parliament.
There are bound to be significant differences of opinion even within the Labour Party about how the specific terms should be enacted and enforced, so any changes may not necessarily make it easy to pass quickly.
Some of the changes are significant and it is clear from Government announcements that there will be a lengthy consultation period for those changes before anything is implemented. News reports have suggested two years before implementation which would take us to 2026 but nothing is guaranteed with Parliament passing legislation.
What’s missing from the Employment Rights Bill?
A few things suggested by Labour that would feature in this Bill including the so-called “right to disconnect”, review of parental and carers leave, and a shift towards single worker status are all notably absent from the draft Bill.
The Government has now included these in a “Next Steps” document which hints at future changes but without any specific indication as to when or how that might be the case.
What do these changes to workers’ rights mean for employers?
Chris Dobbs, Employment Associate, says: “There are some significant surprises in this Bill, not least the apparent introduction of third-party harassment liability and the strict imposition of fire and rehire rules.
However, this document remains in draft format and there is a considerable process of parliamentary scrutiny before it is even formalised and then no doubt some significant time before it is implemented.
We will keep reviewing the contents and sharing our thoughts and on-going developments as the Bill progresses.
For now, employers will want to be mindful of these changes and start considering some of the future impacts, but should not be concerned about immediate change.”
Stay Updated
In our next in-person event, on 13th November, we’ll provide a detailed analysis of the proposed bill and have a more in-depth discussion. You can sign up to that event here.
If you’re not already, you can sign up to our employment newsletter to receive updates on the Employment Rights Bill, and any other legislation changes, directly to your inbox. Sign up for free here.
Any questions?
If you have any questions following this article, around the Employment Rights Bill or anything else, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
You can call us on 01202 499255 or submit a question using the form at the top of this page.
We offer a free initial appointment for all new clients.
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