On 15 June in a Parliamentary debate in the House of Lords, Lord Callanan, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) confirmed that the draft Statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement will be published for consultation in summer 2022.
The code will set out good practice and help parties reach a negotiated agreement.
During the debate Lord Callanan confirmed that the Employment Bill will be delivered "when parliamentary time allows", but stated that there are other ways of delivering what were manifesto commitments than a formal government employment bill. The suggestion seems to be that the government is considering alternative options for delivering its commitments outside the anticipated Employment Bill. This follows statements made by Lord Callanan on 14 June in another House of Lords debate that "alternative vehicles" for bringing forward legislation to introduce unpaid carers' leave, provision for which was expected to be included in the Employment Bill, will be considered.
