Key Proposals in the New Employment Rights Bill

Today (10 October 2024), the UK government introduced sweeping reforms through the Employment Rights Bill, aiming to improve working conditions and ensure greater fairness for employees.

Proposals introduced in the new Employment Rights bill

• New rights to guaranteed hours
• Reasonable notice of shifts and compensation payments for shift cancellation unless an exception applies - the presumption that notice of a shift given in less than a time specified in the regulations will be presumed unreasonable. If employers wish to rely on an exception, they must notify the worker that the exception relies on and provide information as to why it applies.
• Movement and curtailment at short notice for those on zero and other specified contracts
• Paternity leave and parental leave from day one
• A right to bereavement leave
• All reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and prevent harassment by third parties
• Whistleblowing protections extended to disclosures relating to sexual harassment and in relation to dismissal
• Remove the qualifying period in relation to unfair dismissal
• A new unfair dismissal right to limit the use of "fire and refire" or "fire and replace" by employers
• Extending collective redundancy protection by ensuring that the number at risk is looked at across the whole business, not limited to a particular establishment within the business
• Extend legal protections in relation to dismissal following pregnancy or certain types of statutory family leave, including adoption or shared parental leave, and for failing to agree to a variation of contract
• Increase to the time limits for making claims to Employment Tribunals
• Removes restrictions on trade unions, giving greater freedom to organise, represent, and negotiate on behalf of their workers.
• Rights of trade unions to access workplaces by access agreements - disputes to be regulated by the Central Arbitration Committee.
• Creation of the Fair Work Agency and an expanded Labour Market Enforcement Regime

To find out more

Watch Karen's webinar on this topic here.