Two new employment bills have been proposed by the new Labour government – an Employment Rights Bill, and the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
The Employment Rights Bill, which will be introduced within the first 100 days of government, is described by the government as “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”. Among the proposals are:
- banning zero hours contracts – ensuring workers have a right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work and that all workers get reasonable notice of any changes in shift, with proportionate compensation for any shifts cancelled or curtailed;
- ending the practice of ‘fire and re-hire’;
- making parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from day-one on the job for all workers’
- strengthening Statutory Sick Pay by removing the lower earnings limit and the waiting period;
- making flexible working the default from day one for all workers, with employers required to accommodate this as far as reasonable; and
- making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work, except in specific circumstances.
The government also said the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will tackle inequality for ethnic minority and disabled people by:
- enshrining in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people; and
- introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for larger employers (those with 250+ employees) to help close the ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
Charlie Rae, Partner in employment law firm TLT, commented: “There is no need for employers to take action immediately, but we recommend keeping a watching brief on many of the key proposals. Of course, the devil will be in the detail. Timeframes are uncertain so there remains an element of crystal ball gazing.
“Equally, detailed planning for compulsory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting will be difficult until the exact requirements have been published. However, employers could start collating their equality data for the purposes of reviewing and considering it in advance of mandatory obligations coming into force.
“In due course, employers may need to review HR systems, policies and procedures, and make plans to ensure managers are trained appropriately on employment law impacted by the reforms. For example, day one unfair dismissal rights may require employers to look at their policy on probationary periods and ensure managers are updated about changes required to fair dismissal procedures.”
“There is no need for employers to take action immediately, but we recommend keeping a watching brief on many of the key proposals. Of course, the devil will be in the detail. Timeframes are uncertain so there remains an element of crystal ball gazing.
Charlie Rae, Partner in employment law firm TLT
