Employment Rights Bill

Last week the Government tabled amendments to the Employment Rights Bill. James Hall, Managing Director at EMBS looks at some of the key details.

The employment landscape is set for significant change, as evidenced by the Government’s recent release of over 200 pages of amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, following initial consultations.

As recruitment specialists, we understand how crucial it is for employers to stay ahead of these developments. So, what are the key implications of these changes?

Collective Consultation

The Government wants to make changes to how companies handle large-scale redundancies and contract changes. The aim is to stop the practice of “fire and rehire” where employees are dismissed if they don’t accept new contracts.

To do this, they’re beefing up the rules around collective consultation, which is when companies talk to employee representatives about big changes. Firstly, the penalty for companies that don’t follow these rules properly is being doubled. This means if a court finds a company didn’t consult correctly, they’ll have to pay more compensation to the affected employees. However, the Government has decided against introducing a system where employees could get a temporary court order to stop a breach of these rules while a full case is heard.

They also plan to change how companies calculate when these consultation rules kick in. Right now, it’s when 20 or more people are being made redundant in one place. The change for the future would be across the whole company. However, they’re keeping the option to change this if redundancies happen in several different locations. Finally, they’ve clarified that companies won’t have to consult with every employee representative at the same time or try to get everyone to agree on the same thing.

Zero-Hours Contracts

Zero-hours contracts and agency workers are also under scrutiny. The initial exclusion of agency workers from guaranteed hours and shift notice provisions would be rectified, extending these rights to them. Crucially, the end hirer will be responsible for offering guaranteed hours. At the same time both agencies and hirers would share responsibility for shift notices and short-notice payments. Notably, parties would be able to contract out of guaranteed hours via collective agreements and temporary contracts would remain viable for genuine temporary work needs.

Statutory Sick Pay

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) would see a significant overhaul, becoming a day-one right for all workers. For those earning below the Lower Earnings Limit, SSP will be calculated at 80% of their normal weekly earnings. This is to ensure  fairer compensation.

Trade Union Reforms

Trade union reforms would aim to modernise industrial relations by simplifying ballot requirements, introducing e-balloting and extending industrial action mandates

It’s important to remember that this Bill is still in its early stages. It will next move to the Report stage in the House of Commons. Further consultations and secondary legislation will follow, meaning these reforms will continue to evolve.

Read the changes in more detail.