Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill tabled

The Employment Rights Bill, introduced in October 2024, marked a significant step towards strengthening worker protections in the UK. A reminder of the contents of the Bill can be found in our previous article here.

Just seven weeks after the Employment Rights Bill was announced, on 27 November 2024, the Government published the Employment Rights Bill (Amendment Paper). This is the first of no doubt many, amendments to the Bill and these are due to be debated again in the Houses in January 2025.

The amendments made for interesting reading for employment lawyers and HR professionals alike. Whilst some of these changes are unlikely to make it to the final Act, it is clear to see where Labour is heading with their stance on employment law in the UK.

Key amendments proposed:

• The time limit for bringing employment tribunal claims to be doubled from three months to six months. This is a huge change which will increase the workload of already stretched Employment Tribunals. Already there is more than a year between issuing a claim and the preliminary hearing, one must wonder whether this will be exacerbated by this changed.
• One of the major proposals contained within the Employment Rights Bill was to make unfair dismissal a day one right, albeit with less onerous obligations on employers during the dismissal process in the early days of employment. The Bill contained the term ‘initial period of employment’ but did not explain what that meant. The amendments now contain a proposal from Liberal Democrats that this period should be between three and nine months. We will await to see the outcome of parliamentary debates to see whether this makes the final Act.
• There has been an assortment of changes to the provisions relating to guaranteed hours but these changes do not make any substantial changes to the intricate and challenging structure of these provisions.
• The provisions relating to payment when shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice has been amended to include a tribunal discretion as to whether to make an award, and further discretion as to what payment should be, considering the ‘seriousness of the matter’.
• The definition of “matters relating to gender equality” has been amended to include menstrual problems and menstrual disorders which, under separate regulations, employers may be obligated to produce equality action plans on.
• There has been an additional clarification relating to the right of trade unions access to the workplace. It has been specified that this right will not extend to workplaces that are also a dwelling.

The following changes are those proposed by other politicians in the same document:

• A clause which would render any non-disclosure agreement void if it prevents the employee / worker from making a disclosure about any form of harassment (Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran).
• A clause prohibiting the use of ‘substitution clauses’ in employment, worker or dependent contractor contracts (Conservative MP Nick Timothy).

While the Employment Rights Bill holds the potential to revolutionise the UK's employment landscape, it's important to note that the final Act may not include all proposed amendments. Several factors, including parliamentary processes and the consultation, could influence the final legislation. As for the implementation date, specific details remain forthcoming. We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide timely updates as soon as official announcements are made.

These notes have been prepared for the purpose of articles only. They should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice.