The King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 contained numerous employment law reforms. You can find a summary below of the bills the new government intends to introduce to Parliament and the policy priorities which do not require legislation. We will be tracking the bills as they go through the Parliamentary system and their impact on employment law.
The Government is committed to making work pay and will legislate to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights via the Employment Rights Bill (ERB).
Provisions likely to be in the forthcoming ERB
The right not to be unfairly dismissed from day one
The ERB is set to give all employees from day 1 the right not to be unfairly dismissed. This will not prevent an employee being dismissed for one of the five potentially fair reasons, nor during the probationary period (provided there are fair and transparent rules and processes in place).
Zero-hour contracts and one-sided flexibility
The ERB will ban “exploitative” zero hours contracts and ensure everyone has the right to have a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work, based on a 12-week reference period. The aim is also to have all workers receive reasonable notice of any change in shifts or working time, with compensation that is proportionate to the notice given for any shifts cancelled or curtailed.
The ERB will not change the right to be paid overtime rates, nor fixed-term contract offers, including seasonal work.
Flexible working
ERB to make flexible working a day one right for all workers. Employers will be required to accommodate this “as far as is reasonable”.
Living wage
ERB to introduce a genuine living wage that accounts for the cost of living and will remove discriminatory age bands that currently exist.
Sick-pay limits
ERB to strengthen statutory sick pay by removing the lower earnings limit (currently £123 per week) and remove the waiting period that workers receive statutory sick pay, from day one of their sickness, rather than day four.
Fire and rehire
ERB to end ‘fire and rehire’ and ‘fire and replace’.
Single status of worker
ERB to move away from employee status and move towards a single status of worker. This will result in a change from the three-tier system of employees, workers and self-employed, to simply workers and self-employed.
Redundancy rights and TUPE
ERB to strengthen redundancy rights and protections; and also strengthen the existing rights and protections, for workers subject to TUPE processes.
Family friendly rights
ERB to ensure that parental leave is a right for all workers from day one of employment.
ERB to make it unlawful to dismiss a woman, who has had a baby, for 6 months after her return to work from maternity leave (except in specific circumstances).
ERB to clarify the law and entitlement to bereavement leave, introducing the right to bereavement leave for all workers.
Rights at work
The establishment of a Single Enforcement Body, with trade union and Trade Union Congress representation, to ensure greater coordination in the face of complex enforcement challenges.
ERB to increase the time limit within which employees are able to make an employment tribunal claim from three months to six months, aligning with the time limit for statutory redundancy and equal pay claims. This is also in line with the Law Commission recommendation in April 2020.
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
Legislation on race and disability equality will be published in draft to enshrine the full right to equal pay in law for ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, via the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
Additional Bills listed in King’s Speech
A ‘Skills England Bill’ which will “will sit at the heart of a system that provides learners with the skills required to thrive in life, businesses with the trained workforce they need to succeed, and local areas with access to the right skills to spur economic growth”.
Appropriate legislation will be introduced to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models.
If you would like more information on the proposed changes above or are seeking advice on how these intended reforms may impact your business, feel free to get in touch with the team.
Jones Chase is a specialist employment law firm based in the centre of London with an excellent track record of looking after those that we assist.
Do contact us should you require further information or need any assistance. We are always happy to speak to people and point them in the right direction.