Helen Corden

Among the changes proposed are enhanced rights for workers around flexible working, and the extension of existing employment rights – including rights to sick pay, and to protection against unfair dismissal – so that they apply from “day one” of employment contracts.

Other proposals relate to industrial relations and pave the way for the removal of restrictions on strike action and statutory recognition whilst also providing for new obligations on employers to advise workers of their rights to join a trade union. 

Additionally, further restrictions are placed on the right to “fire and re-hire”, something which the government has described as a “scourge” on worker rights, together with the restricted use of zero-hour contracts.

Further reforms envisage employers taking further steps to address the gender pay gap and support employees through the menopause. The bill also, among other things, provides for increased protection from sexual harassment in the workplace, going further than the new positive duty to prevent sexual harassment which took effect on 26 October.

Most of the new rights and obligations to be created by the bill are unlikely to be in force until 2026 and the government has outlined its intent to consult further on many aspects of the reform package, including the timetable for implementation. The bill serves, in some areas, as mere framework legislation for secondary implementing regulations and statutory codes of practice to follow, where the reforms will be set out in more detail.

By publishing the bill, the new Labour government has met its commitment to set out a new Employment Rights Bill within 100 days of coming to power. The contents of the bill reflect the “new deal for working people” it set out before the general election as well as what was trailed in the King’s Speech in July.

Although none of the reforms are unexpected, including almost all aspects of the programme in a single bill rather than a series of bills is ambitious, and shows the government’s commitment to deliver its employment plans in full.

While the bill contains a range of policy measures, many of these measures will not be applied in the workplace for many months, with the UK government committed to publishing targeted consultation with stakeholders to inform next steps.

Additional detail, particularly around more contentious provisions, will then be brought in through secondary legislation or amendments to the bill as it progresses through the UK parliament. This will provide businesses with a number of additional opportunities to shape the legislation and the policies that are contained within it, to ensure that it delivers on its objectives and that the regulatory burdens facing businesses are minimised.

Only a few items from the manifesto agenda are held back, but even those appear in a “next steps” document that was published to complement the bill, including a “right to switch off” - preventing employees from being contacted out of hours unless in exceptional circumstances, consultation on surveillance technologies in the workplace, and enabling employees to collectively raise grievances about conduct in their place of work.

Albeit many of the new rights will not be in force for some time, employers are advised to review their working practices now to take preparatory steps. For example, reviewing their use of zero-hour contracts, reviewing procedures in place for dismissing employees during their probation periods and considering what in-built flexibility there is in existing contracts to vary terms and conditions of employment.

Helen Corden is a partner at Pinsent Masons