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King’s Speech: Not One, But Two New Employment Law Bills on the Horizon
18th July, 2024 by James Pitts
The King’s Speech yesterday morning marked the State Opening of Parliament following Labour’s election victory earlier this month. King Charles announced the Labour Government’s agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session, outlining proposed policies and legislation – and over 35 bills and draft bills! This includes two new employment law bills, which will see a whole host of changes being brought in, as promised in Labour’s “New Deal For Working People”: the Employment Rights Bill and a draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
The Employment Rights Bill is expected to be “introduced” within 100 days of Labour taking office, indicating that the final version may be before parliament by 12 October 2024. As explained in more detail in the Prime Minister’s briefing notes on the King’s Speech, this Bill will look to:
- Make parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal “day one” rights (subject to rules on probationary periods so that employers can assess new recruits).
- Restrict the practice of “fire and rehire” by reforming the law to provide effective remedies and replacing the Statutory Code of Practice.
- Ban “exploitative” zero-hour contracts to ensure that workers have the right to a contract reflecting the number of hours they regularly work, as well as for workers to be given reasonable notice of any shift changes with proportionate compensation for cancelled shifts.
- Make statutory sick pay more accessible by removing the three-day waiting period and the lower earnings limit (currently £123 per week).
- Make flexible working the default position from “day one” for all workers, with employers being required to accommodate flexible working as far as is reasonable.
- Strengthen protection for new mothers, by making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after returning to work (except in specific circumstances).
- Create a new “Single Enforcement Body” or “Fair Work Agency” for the enforcement of workplace rights.
- Simplify the process of statutory recognition for trade unions, and introduce a right for workers and union members access a union within workplaces.
- Update trade union legislation, remove unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity (including in respect of minimum service levels) and ensure industrial relations are centred around good faith negotiation and bargaining.
- Establish a “Fair Pay Agreement” in the adult social care sector.
- Reinstate the “School Support Staff Negotiating Body” to establish national terms and conditions, career progression routes and rates of fair pay.
It is likely that the Employment Rights Bill will also include the other measures set out in Labour’s “New Deal For Working People” – including, for example, reforms to employment status categorisation, extension of the time limit to bring Employment Tribunal claims, the right to disconnect from work, and reforms to collective consultation requirements where redundancies are being made across a business. However, we will need to wait to see whether all of these proposals are ultimately included in this Bill.
Labour also intends on introducing a draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which will set out the right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people, making it easier for them to bring pay discrimination claims. This Bill will also require employers with 250 to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
James Pitts comments:
The announcements made in the King’s Speech are not unexpected, and indicate that Labour is prepared to proceed with most, if not all, of the measures set out in its “New Deal For Working People”. Labour’s proposed changes are some of the most radical we have seen this century, and will enhance employment rights substantially. However, even if the Employment Rights Bill is passed relatively quickly, it likely that most of the measures will not be implemented until late 2025 or early 2026. Employers will be able to get the latest news on these proposals by booking onto our employment law update seminars in October, which will be announced soon.
If you have any questions on any of the upcoming changes, please contact a member of the team here.
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