So, finally, after much speculation, press leaks, anguished cries from business and reports of government in-fighting, we finally have the new government’s Employment Rights Bill.
And, to be honest, it’s a bit of an anti-climax. There are lots of minor tinkering with existing rules, many of which have little uptake, or extending existing rights to people who don’t currently qualify. Some of the key proposals are:
- The right to claim unfair dismissal, although it will become formally a day-one right, will in practical terms be reduced from requiring 2 years’ service to 9 months’ service.
- The right to statutory sick pay will be available to all employees from day one regardless of their earnings. Currently it’s not payable until day 4 of sickness and only for those who earn more than £123 a week (for context that means anyone who does more than 11 hours per week at adult minimum wage already qualifies)
- Rights to parental leave. paternity leave and bereavement leave from day 1 of employment rather than requiring a minimum qualifying period. As parental leave in particular is unpaid, hardly anyone uses it currently so extending it is unlikely to see a massive increase in time off.
- Strengthening and extending existing unfair dismissal protections for women on maternity for up to 6 months after they return.
- Flexible working requests must be accepted unless the Employer has a valid business reason to say no. Currently employers must justify saying no with a valid business reason so in practice it’s unlikely to make much of a difference.
- Rules on zero hours will be changed so that workers have the right to a contract based on the average number of hours over the preceding 12 weeks (but can choose to stay on zero hours if they prefer). Those of you who’ve read my recent employment law update (sign up here if you don’t already get it) will know that this had already brought into law by the previous Conservative government but not actually implemented.
- Abolishing some of the previous Government’s restrictive rules on trade unions and strike action – which were rarely used by employers and were not particularly relevant to small business.
- There will be a lot of consultation on various other aspects of employment law, including
- The ‘Right to Switch off’ – which it appears may now just be a code of practice rather than a legal requirement.
- Clarifying the law around employment status – an area which appears very nerdy but is key to businesses that use sub-contractors, casual workers and ‘gig economy’ working practices
- Considering how equal pay legislation can be extended to cover race as well as sex
Most importantly, the changes themselves are unlikely to be implemented until at least 2026 – which means that businesses will have plenty of time to prepare for them.
After all the hype, it appears we are left with simply a continuation of the approach to employment law of the last 14 years – minor tinkering with particular rules that give some additional benefits to employees but at minimal discomfort to business.
(As an aside, if you’re wondering about the post title you’ll find the origin here)