Employment Rights Bill

The Government published the Employment Rights Bill on Thursday 10th October. Here are the key proposed changes you should be aware of, should they become law, there is no firm date yet for when that would happen but it’s likely to be at some point next year:

1. Unfair Dismissal: Protection from unfair dismissal will now be a ‘day one’ right, eliminating the two-year qualifying period.
2. Probation periods: The Government will consult on a statutory probation period for new hires, we are expecting either six or nine months.
3. Zero-Hours Contracts: Those on zero or low hours contracts will have the right to a guaranteed hours contract if they regularly work a defined number of hours.
4. Fire and Rehire Practices: The Bill will mean that it will be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing a contract variation. This will be a significant change.
5. Parental Leave: New rights for paternity, unpaid parental, and bereavement leave will be introduced from day one.
6. Sick Pay: Statutory sick pay will become a ‘day one’ right, with the removal of the three-day waiting period and the lower earnings limit.
7. Flexible Working: Flexible working will be strengthened by making it the default where this is ‘practical.’
8. Protection for Parents: Enhanced protections for pregnant women and new mothers will be implemented, including protection from dismissal during pregnancy and maternity leave.
9. Minimum Wage: The minimum wage will consider the cost of living, and discriminatory age bands will be removed
10. Full liability for employers for third party harassment – this would be a significant change.
11. Protected disclosures (aka whistleblowing) – allegations of sexual harassment will be covered.

The Government has also said that it will publish a ‘Next Steps’ document which will outline future reforms, including:

1. A ‘right to switch off’ to prevent out-of-hours contact, except in emergencies.
2. A commitment to tackle pay discrimination by expanding the Equality (Race and Disparity) Bill to mandate large employers to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
3. A move towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status.
4. Reviews of parental leave and carers leave systems.

We anticipate you want to consider how you might be impacted by this Bill (should some or all of it become law). We will keep you updated on any further news through our monthly People Spotlight articles so do keep an eye out for them.

For specialist advice on employee wellbeing initiatives and mental health support in the workplace, contact Simon Martin in our team on at 07384 813076.