Employment Rights Bill: New reforms to enhance worker protections

The Employment Rights Bill, announced in full yesterday, proposes significant changes to employment law in the UK, with a focus on enhancing worker protections and updating employers’ obligations.

Key changes announced in the Bill

The newly announced legislation would introduce several important reforms, including expanded flexible working rights, stronger protections for new parents, and changes to zero-hours contracts.

Under the proposed changes:

• Employees will have protection against unfair dismissal from the first day of employment, rather than after the current two-year qualifying period. The government plans to consult on a statutory probation period that employers can use to assess the suitability of new hires, but as yet it is unclear how this will operate or how this will work alongside the changes to unfair dismissal.
• An employee’s right to make a flexible working request will be available from day one of employment, eliminating the previous 26-week qualifying period. Employers, however, will still be able to refuse requests based on business needs, though they may need to provide more detailed reasons for any refusal.
• Workers will be able to claim statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness, as opposed to the fourth day of absence.
• Paternity leave, unpaid parental leave and bereavement leave will all become available to parents and workers from their first day in the job.
• Additional protections for pregnant women and new parents would be introduced, including a proposed extension to the redundancy protection period – to cover the time from pregnancy notification through to six months after returning from leave. This move aims to safeguard against unfair redundancy practices during critical periods for new parents.
• Reforms to zero-hours contracts will include a minimum notice period for shifts and compensation for last-minute cancellations. In addition, zero-hours worker will have a right to guaranteed hours, if they work regular hours over a set period.

Impact on Employers and Employees

The reforms introduced by the Employment Rights Bill will have a considerable impact on both employers and workers, if introduced to law.

It is important to note that these changes do not yet have legal effect. The Bill simply outlines what the government plans to introduce in forthcoming legislation. It could be up to two years before all of the changes announced in the Bill become law.

Even so, if the changes are introduced, businesses will need to adapt to the new rules, updating their policies to ensure compliance.

With this in mind, we would advise employers to anticipate an increase in flexible working requests and to begin reviewing their existing policies, as this may help to plan and prepare for the coming changes.

Commenting on the Bill, Fosters Solicitors’ Amber Tansley, said: “It’s important to remember that the Employment Rights Bill is not yet law and may not be for some time. There is no need for businesses to start panicking about ‘what ifs’. Many businesses will already have policies and procedures in place and knowledge of how to handle certain issues in the workplace. In anticipation of the changes being brought into effect, we would recommend businesses review and revise those policies. We would be happy to help advise with this and how they should be implemented going forward.”

Our Employment team here at Fosters Solicitors are always happy to provide professional advice and assistance on employment rights and employer obligations.

Please call them on 01603 723715 or complete our online enquiry form.

This article was produced on the 11th October 2024 by our Employment team for information purposes only and should not be construed or relied upon as specific legal advice.