The Employment Rights Bill – the key changes to note

On 10 October, as promised, the government published its Employment Rights Bill within the first 100 days of coming to power!  Described as "the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation" it has certainly generated lots of press interest, but many of the changes won't be coming in any time soon. 

While the Bill itself is anticipated to receive Royal Assent in the summer of 2025, the majority of the reforms will not take effect until 2026 following extensive consultation.

The Bill contains 28 new rights, so this article focuses on the most significant.

Unfair dismissal and day 1 rights

The two year qualifying period will come to an end and the right not to be unfairly dismissed will be in place from day one of employment.  There will be a "lighter touch" process that employer's will be able to follow during the probationary period (likely to be 9 months) if the dismissal relates to conduct, capability, a statutory bar, or some other substantial reason relating to the employee.

Day one rights will also apply to employees taking paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.  There will also be a day one right to receive statutory sick pay.

Zero hours

Zero-hours contracts won't be banned altogether but there will be an end to "one-sided flexibility".

The Bill contains two different measures: ensuring that workers have the right to have a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work for their employer based on a reference period, and ensuring that workers get a reasonable notice of their shift patterns, and of any changes to these patterns, with compensation for shifts cancelled at short notice.

Where work is genuinely temporary, there will be no expectation on employers to offer permanent contracts, though it remains to be seen what genuinely temporary means. 

Fire and rehire

Situations in which employers will be able to use fire and rehire will be significantly reduced.  A dismissal will be automatically unfair (with no qualifying service needed) if the reason or principal reason is that the employer sought to vary the employee's contract without the employee's agreement, or to enable the employer to employ another person, or re-engage the same employee to carry out substantially the same duties as before.

Employers will no longer be able to change terms and conditions of employment based on a sound business reason for doing so; they will need to show that they are in "financial difficulties" (likely to be akin to insolvency).

Trade Union reforms

There are a number of sweeping reforms in relation to trade unions. These include a requirement on employers to provide workers with a written statement confirming their right to join a trade union; a right for unions to request access to the workplace to meet, recruit or organise workers to facilitate collective bargaining; and a right for workers to be protected from detriments, short of dismissal, for taking part in industrial action.

There are also reforms in relation to trade union recognition and balloting, and there will be a right to enhanced facilities for trade union members and representatives.

For more a more detailed discussion of these and other measures included within the Bill, please refer to our HR Hub here: https://www.trowers.com/topics/hr-law