A new government often means big changes! As predicted by Sarah Cook in her post Will Labour's Plan Make Work Pay? (porterdodson.co.uk), the new government has followed through on its promise and introduced the new Employment Rights Bill. Once passed into law, this Bill will provide for the biggest employment rights shake-up in a generation.

We’ve summarised the important key points from the Bill below:

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

Unfair dismissal
Currently, employees must have two years’ service to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Under the new Bill, employees will have this right from day one.

Employers will be able to dismiss during or at the end of a probationary period, however the length of this period is to be consulted on. If the rumour mill is correct, the Government has stated its preference is 9 months, however this will be subject to consultation. There will also be a specified, shortened, process for a probationary dismissal. This could be as simple as a meeting with the employee, but watch this space.

Fire and rehire
Employers will now only be able to offer to re-engage workers on new terms as part of business restructuring where there is no alternative, to ensure the viability of the business. New automatic unfair dismissal rights will be given to employees whose employment is terminated as part of recontracting unless: 

• to the employer can show that they have financial difficulties affecting their ability to continue operating as a going concern; and
• the changes are not ones they could reasonably be expected to avoid.

Zero-hours contracts
The Bill doesn’t go quite as far as to ban zero hours contracts, but the government wants to ensure that jobs provide a baseline level of security and predictability. Workers will have the right to be offered a guaranteed hours contract reflecting the hours they regularly work over a 12-week reference period. Importantly, workers can still choose to remain on their zero hours contract if they wish.

There will also be new provisions designed to give workers reasonable notice of shifts and to proportionately compensate them when shifts or working times are cancelled by an employer at short notice.

Flexible working 
Here, employees can request flexible working from their first day. Employees will have the right to work flexibly unless an employer can show that it is not reasonably feasible, and provides the grounds of refusal in writing, with an explanation as to why.

Paternity, parental and bereavement leave plus maternity protection
Employees currently require 26 weeks’ service to qualify for these rights. Under the new Bill, employees will be entitled to these rights from their first day of employment. For bereavement leave, the phrase “parental” is being removed to allow for greater entitlement to other family members.  Bereavement leave in relation to a child will remain at 2 weeks, other bereavement leave is to be one week.
Additionally, new mothers will have legal protection from dismissal for a period of time after they return to work. We anticipate this period to be six months but await confirmation of this.

Statutory Sick Pay
Currently payable from day 4 of sickness absence, this will become payable from the first day of sickness.

Collective consultation for redundancies
Currently, collective consultation is necessary where it is proposed that 20 or more individuals are to be made redundant at one establishment. This means that businesses with more than one site only need to collectively consult where there were 20 or more proposed redundancies at one site. The Bill will oblige employers to count the number of redundancies across the whole business when calculating whether collective consultation is required.

WHEN WILL THIS HAPPEN?
Although these changes may seem sudden and overwhelming, please don’t panic, as most are unlikely to come into force until 2026, and the government will be consulting on many aspects of the reform. The Bill itself serves as a framework for secondary legislation and we will keep you updated as it progresses.

There are also further reforms still to come, including extending the pay gap reporting for large employers, reforming the current three-tier system of employment status and introducing a right to “switch off”.

HOW CAN WE HELP?
The Bill presents both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Change is always daunting and our Employment Team are here to support you and help you navigate these reforms.  Our services include reviewing and updating employment contracts, policies, and handbooks to ensure compliance with the new regulations. We can provide training for your HR team and management to effectively implement these changes and address any concerns that may arise.