The government's employment plans

The government is committed to ending "exploitative zero hours contracts" and it proposes to achieve this by inserting complex provisions into the Employment Rights Act 1996. 

Existing position

Zero-hours contracts (contracts between a business and a casual worker where the worker is engaged on an ad hoc basis with no guarantee of work for the business) are currently legal.

The government's proposals

The Bill provides that qualifying workers, generally those on zero hours or "low" hours contracts, will have the right to be offered guaranteed hours if their hours meet certain conditions such as regularity over a defined reference period. We thought the reference period was going to be 12 weeks, but the length of the reference period will be determined by secondary legislation. 

The worker then has the right to accept or reject such an offer. 

The Bill also allows the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring the offer to not only guarantee certain hours, but also the same days, times and working pattern. 

The Bill also provides that employers will be able, in certain situations, to limit the offer of guaranteed hours to a particular period, but only where it is reasonable to do so. 

If the guaranteed hours provisions are not complied with, workers will be able to bring claims in the Employment Tribunal for a declaration and compensation (which will be capped).  

Reasonable notice of shifts – the Bill requires employers to provide reasonable notice of shifts and changes affecting shifts. Secondary legislation will set out the amount of notice required and the form that such notice will need to be given. 

Cancelling, moving or curtailing shifts at short notice - subject to certain specified exceptions, employers will be required to make a payment of a specified amount to a worker each time they move, cancel or curtail a qualifying shift. Further detail on this right will be set out in secondary legislation. 

The government will consult on the zero hours measures. It has also stated that these measures will be adapted and applied to agency workers. The government issued a consultation on 21 October on the final point. This seeks views on the application of the right to a guaranteed hours contract and a right to reasonable notice of shifts with payment for shifts cancelled or curtailed at short notice specifically in relation to agency workers. The consultation closed on 2 December.

Existing position

Unfair dismissal

Currently an employee has to be employed for two years before they are able to bring a claim for unfair dismissal (unless they bring an automatically unfair dismissal claim in which case there is no qualifying period).  

Paternity leave, parental leave and parental bereavement leave

Paternity leave is available to those employed for 26 weeks or more ending with the week immediately prior to the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth/notification that the adopter is notified that they have been matched with a child.

Parental leave is currently only available to employees with one year's continuous employment.

There is a statutory right to two weeks' parental bereavement leave and pay in the event of the death of a child or a stillbirth.

Statutory sick pay (SSP)

SSP is currently available to employees who have average weekly earnings of not less than the lower earnings limit based on the eight weeks before they became sick and becomes available on the fourth day of absence.

The government's proposals

Unfair dismissal

The right not to be unfairly dismissed will be in place for employees from day 1 of employment, although this will not prevent fair dismissals. The Bill allows employers to operate probationary periods during which employees can be dismissed more easily for performance. The government has committed to consulting on the length of the statutory probation period – its preference is for a 9- month period.

The Bill provides that regulations can be made to set out circumstances where separate periods of continuous employment can be aggregated and treated as a single period.

Employees who have been recruited but have not yet started work are not covered by the unfair dismissal protections, although there are various exceptions to this rule which allow employees to claim that they've been unfairly dismissed even before starting work. The first is where the dismissal is automatically unfair, these include dismissals in connection with pregnancy, childbirth or maternity, and dismissal in connection with exercising the right to family leave entitlements. The second is where the dismissal is, or relates to, the employee's political opinions or affiliation. The third is where dismissal is for a spent conviction (this protection will only be gained once the employee has entered into the employment contract and won't apply if they are not recruited because of a spent conviction).

The government will consult extensively on the new right. In order to provide sufficient time for the consultation, and to allow employers to prepare and adapt, the unfair dismissal reforms won't be in any sooner than Autumn 2026.

Paternity leave, parental leave and bereavement leave

Day one rights will apply to employees taking paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.

Paternity leave will also be able to be taken in addition to and following shared parental leave. 

The  Bill converts existing parental bereavement leave into a general entitlement to bereavement leave. Entitlement to this right will depend on the employee's relationship to the deceased person. Where the deceased is a child, leave remains at 2 weeks. For everyone else it will be 1 week.

Statutory Sick pay (SSP)

The Bill provides that SSP will be available from day one and the minimum earnings limit will be removed, but there is provision for lower earners to be paid less than the statutory rates of SSP.

The government issued a consultation on 21 October on what the percentage replacement rate for lower earners should be. The consultation closed on 4 December.

Existing position 

In April 2024 various changes were made to the flexible working regime, including the new day one right to make a flexible working request. Currently, an employer has to deal with a request in a 'reasonable manner' and can refuse it based on specified grounds.  

The government's proposals

Under the Bill flexible working will be the "default" from day one for all employees, but only where "practicable".  

The Bill also enhances current rights – an employer will only be permitted to refuse a request if one of the specified grounds applies and if it is reasonable to refuse the request on that ground. 

Where the request is refused, the employer will be required to notify the employee of the ground for refusal and explain why it thinks the decision is reasonable. 

The government has committed to developing the detail of this new right in consultation and partnership with business, trade unions and third sector bodies.

Existing position

The Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement came into force on 18 July 2024.  Employers will have to follow the Code when seeking to change employment terms and conditions if they envisage dismissal and re-engagement on new terms.

The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Amendment) Act 1992 (Amendment of Schedule A2) Order 2024 is due to come into force on 20 January 2025.  The new order amends Schedule A2 to TULRCA and provides that, in a protective award claim where it appears to an Employment Tribunal that the Code (or another relevant code of practice) applies and the employer (or employee) has unreasonably failed to comply with it, compensation can be increased or reduced by up to 25%.

The government's proposals

The Bill restricts the practice of firing and rehiring employees who do not accept a change to their terms and conditions of employment  (but doesn't abolish it as originally promised). 

There will be a new category of automatic unfair dismissal. A dismissal will be unfair if the reason (or principal reason) was that the employer sought, and the employee refused, a variation to their contract of employment. The dismissal will also be unfair if the employer replaces the employee with another person who carries out substantially the same duties, but who is willing to accept the varied terms. 

The Bill does allow employers to fire and rehire in limited circumstances, such as the need to reduce or mitigate 'financial difficulties which at the time of dismissal were affecting, or were likely in the immediate future to affect the employer's ability to carry on the business as a going concern or otherwise carry on the activities constituting the business.' 

The government issued a consultation on 21 October which seeks views on protections for employees against fire and rehire practices. It is asking for views on whether interim relief should be available to employees who are bringing an unfair dismissal claim under the new category of automatic unfair dismissal introduced by the Employment Rights Bill.

The consultation closed on 2 December.

Existing position 

Under current case law the "local unit" approach is taken for collective redundancy purposes, so individual workplaces are looked at rather than the entire business.

The government's proposals

The Bill will remove reference to 'one establishment', so the right to collective consultation will be determined by the number of employees impacted across the business rather than in one workplace.  

The government issued a consultation on 21 October seeking views on the collective redundancy framework and its proposal to increase the maximum period of the protective award that a tribunal can award. It is considering two options: increasing the protective award from 90 to 180 days, or removing the cap on the protective award entirely.

The government is also seeking views on whether interim relief should be available to employees who bring claims for the protective award.

The consultation closed on 2 December.

Existing position

On 16 May 2024 the previous government issued a 'Consultation on clarifications to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 and abolishing the legal framework for European Works Councils'. The consultation closed on 11 July 2024.

As far as TUPE is concerned the consultation proposes making changes to clarify that it does not apply to workers and also to clarify the application of TUPE where a single business is transferred to multiple transferees. It remains to be seen whether Labour will adopt these changes.

The government's proposals

The Bill provides for the reinstatement of the two-tier code for public sector contracts. This will ensure that those transferring form the public sector and those employed by the supplier are treated equally. 

In the longer term, and outside the remit of the Bill, the government with launch a call for evidence "to holistically examine a wide range of issues relating to TUPE" 

Existing position

Women are protected from unfavourable treatment until the end of their maternity leave period, or until they return to work (if earlier).

The government's proposals

Under the Bill it will be unlawful to dismiss a woman for six months after her return to work except in specific circumstances.

Existing position 

There are no sectorial collective bargaining agreements currently in the field of adult social care or education, or in any other employment sectors.

The government's proposals

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSNB) will return under the Bill and there is the power to create a new body – the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (ASCNB). 

These bodies will have the power to negotiate terms and conditions and the pay of the workers in their sector. The outcome of these negotiations can also potentially be incorporated into the relevant workers terms and conditions of employment.

The Bill provides that nothing done by these bodies amounts to collective bargaining and that agreements reached don’t amount to collective agreements. 

The ASCNB will be responsible for bringing forward a framework for a Fair Pay Agreement process in the adult social care sector.  The government has committed to launching a consultation to consider exactly how the Fair Pay Agreement should work in its 'Next Steps' document.

Existing position

The Trade Union Act 2016 introduces longer notice periods for industrial action, higher ballot thresholds for public services and a six-monthly expiry deadline for ballot mandates. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 enables the government to set minimum service levels for strikes in certain relevant services by way of regulations, and also allows affected employers to issue "work notices" to require certain workers to refrain from strike action in order to meet those minimum service levels.

The government has confirmed that employers are prohibited from providing agency workers to cover the duties normally performed by a worker who is taking part in a strike or other industrial action. This follows the High Court's decision in a judicial review challenge to the lawfulness of the Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (which enabled agency workers to cover striking workers).

Trade union members currently enjoy the right to reasonable time off with pay to carry out union duties and to undergo related training. They are also entitled to reasonable unpaid time off to take part in union activities.

All workers enjoy protection against victimisation by their employers on trade union grounds and are also protected from automatically unfair dismissal on various grounds including their becoming or proposing to become a member of a union; taking part, or proposing to take part in union activities; or making use, or proposing to make use of trade union services.

The government's proposals

The Bill makes extensive changes in this area and ultimately strengthens the powers of trade unions. 

Employers will need to provide workers with a written statement, at the same time as they get their employment particulars (as well as at other prescribed times), that they have a right to join a trade union. The content, form of the statement and how it must be provided will be set out in secondary legislation. 

Unions will be able to access workplaces for the purposes of meeting, recruiting or organising workers or facilitating collective bargaining. If employers refuse, the union(s) will be able to challenge this at the Central Arbitration Committee (a specialist tribunal). 

There is a provision in the Bill for trade union representatives to have sufficient access to facilities (as well as the current right to time off for various activities).

This right will extend to Equality Representatives of recognised trade unions.     

When requesting union recognition there is currently a requirement that 10% of those in the bargaining unit are trade union members. This can be reduced to 2% in the Bill. There is also the power in the Bill to remove the requirement for a 40% turnout to obtain recognition.  

Union deductions and payments for contributions to political funds are simplified. 

The information required on a ballot paper will change under the Bill. The ballot requirements for industrial action can also be reduced in the Bill to a simple majority of those who vote in it, with no requirement for a minimum level of turnout. 

There will not be a requirement for unions to supervise pickets. 

Workers will have statutory protection from detriment or dismissal for taking part in official and protected industrial action. Employees will be protected against dismissal for taking part in industrial action for the length of the strike. 

The Minimum Service Levels legislation will be repealed when the Bill receives Royal Assent. The relevant provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016 which imposes various limitations on strikes, including longer notice periods for industrial action and a six-monthly expiry deadline for industrial action ballot mandates will be repealed two months later, without further consultation.

Blacklisting legislation will be strengthened. 

Separate from the Bill the government has committed to allowing the use of modern and secure electronic balloting for trade union statutory ballots. A working group with stakeholders will be formed by the end of the year with a full rollout implemented following the Royal Assent of the Employment Rights Bill.

Labour will create new rights and protections for trade union representatives, strengthening protections for trade union representatives against unfair dismissal and union members from intimidation harassment, threats and blacklisting. They will also give trade union representatives sufficient facilities time so that they have capacity to represent and defend workers, negotiate with employers and train.

The government issued a consultation on 21 October which closes on 2 December. This seeks views on:

• Simplifying the amount of information unions are required to provide in industrial action notices
• Strengthening provisions to prevent unfair practices during the trade union recognition process
• Removing the 10-year ballot requirement on political funds
• Securing a mandate for negotiation and dispute resolution
• Extending the expiry of the strike mandate
• Reducing the industrial action notice period
• The enforcement mechanism for right of access

Existing position

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality) Act 2023 comes into force  on 26 October 2024. It introduces a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of its employees in the workplace. It also gives employment tribunals the power to uplift sexual harassment compensation by up to 25% where an employer is found to have breached the new duty to prevent sexual harassment.

Harassment by third parties is not currently prohibited under the Equality Act 2010.

A disclosure of sexual harassment is covered by the protected disclosure regime, although not explicitly mentioned. 

The government's proposals

The Bill will strengthen the new duty, so that it becomes one to take "all" reasonable steps. There is a power within the Bill for regulations to be made to specify what constitutes "reasonable steps".

Under the Bill, an employer will be liable if a third party harasses an employee in the course of their employment and the employer failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.

There is also a new category of protected disclosure in respect of sexual harassment.  

Existing position

There is currently no mandatory requirement to publish action plans.

The government's proposals

The Bill provides that regulations may require large employers (250 or more employees) and certain public authorities to develop and publish Equality Audits.

These plans would show the steps taken to reduce gender equality, including the gender pay gap and supporting employees through the menopause, and menstrual problems and disorders. 

Existing position

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and the associated Code of Practice came into force on 1 October 2024. Employers now have a duty to ensure that all qualifying tips are allocated fairly and paid in full no later than the end of the month following the month in which the tip was paid by the customer.

The government's proposals

The Bill imposes additional obligations on an employer when it comes to its written policy about allocating tips. These include obligations to consult over the policy and to review it every three years.

Existing position

The concept of a single enforcement body arose out of the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices back in 2017. The purpose behind it was to ensure that vulnerable workers are aware of and can exercise their rights, giving a single enforcement body the ability to protect workers in relation to the national minimum wage, labour exploitation and modern slavery, as well as enforcing the payment of holiday pay for vulnerable workers and statutory sick pay. Although the Conservatives issued a consultation on this and responded saying that they would set up a single enforcement body, nothing came of this.

The government's proposals

The Bill provides for the creation of a new Fair Work Agency. It will be the single enforcement body for workers' rights such as, but not limited to statutory sick pay, the national minimum wage, paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations 1998, certain rules relating to the conduct of employment agencies and businesses, the Employment Tribunal penalty scheme, and some offences relating to gangmasters and modern slavery. 

The Fair Work Agency will also have strong powers to inspect workplaces and act against exploitation, including discriminatory practices against migrant workers.

Existing position

Ethnicity pay reporting is currently voluntary, although there is government guidance available for those employers who wish to do so. There is no requirement to report on disability pay gaps.

The government's proposals

The publication of ethnicity and disability pay gaps will be made mandatory for employers with more than 250 staff. This will be introduced under the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

Existing position

Race and disability are both protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 and discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of these protected characteristics are illegal. People who have the protected characteristics of race and/or disability have no specific equal pay protection.

The government's proposals

The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will give Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people the right to equal pay. The Bill will introduce the full right to equal pay for disabled people, and support them to work by improving employment support and access to reasonable adjustments.

Existing position

There is no specific legislation governing AI in the workplace in the UK.  In March 2024 the government published guidance, 'Responsible AI in recruitment'.

The government's proposals

The government has committed to consulting on the use of workplace surveillance technologies as part of its longer-term employment plans.

Existing position

Carer's leave, which was introduced in April 2024, is currently unpaid.

The government's proposals

Carer's leave will be reviewed and the benefits of introducing paid carers' leave will be examined. This is one of the government's longer term reforms.  

Existing position

There is currently no mechanism available to raise collective grievances via Acas.

The government's proposals

The government will enable employees to raise collective grievances via Acas to ensure that "bad or illegal" practices won't be able to continue without being properly dealt with as a result of workers being unaware that others have experienced similar issues. This is a longer-term project and the government has committed to consulting with Acas over the measure.

Existing position

There are three types of employment status: employee, worker and self-employed. When the previous government responded to a consultation on employment status in 2022 it acknowledged that there are problems with the current system, including the fact that boundaries between the different statuses can be unclear, but it concluded that the benefits of creating a new system were outweighed by the risks associated with legislative reform.

The government's proposals

Labour has committed to introducing a single status of worker and transition towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status.

It will provide accessible and authoritative information for people on their employment status and attendant rights. It will also give self-employed individuals the right to a written contract and extend health and safety and blacklisting protections to them.

The government will be consulting over these measures and they will be for the longer-term.

Existing position

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HTMS) is currently implementing a reform programme to digitise the employment tribunal process. Individuals have three months within which to bring a claim.

The government's proposals

The government has committed to bringing employment tribunals up to standard, by working to further digitise them, and will increase the time limit within which employees are able to bring a tribunal claim from three months to six months (the latter provision is due to be brought in under the Employment Rights Bill). This will allow more time for internal procedures to be completed which Labour suggests will potentially decrease the number of claims.

Existing position

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1972 imposes a duty on employers to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees. There are also sets of Regulations dealing with specific areas and Approved Codes of Practice and guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to which employers should have regard.

The government's proposals

The government has committed to reviewing health and safety guidance and regulations with a view to modernising legislation and guidance (this will include looking at neurodiversity awareness in the workplace, and whether existing regulations and guidance are adequate to support and protect those experiencing the symptoms of long Covid).

Existing position

There is no current right to switch off in the UK.

The government's proposals

The government will introduce the Right to Switch Off through a statutory Code of Practice as one of its future reforms outside the Employment Rights Bill.

Existing position

Earlier this year some EHRC guidance was issued on menopause and the workplace. It is designed to provide practical tips on making reasonable adjustments and fostering positive conversations about the menopause. There are no specific legal obligations on employers in relation to the menopause.

The government's proposals

As well as the inclusion of actions that employers are taking to support those experiencing the menopause as part of the new right to public equality action plans (contained in the Employment Rights Bill) the government has separately committed to developing menopause guidance for employers and guidance on health and wellbeing.

Existing position

There are currently four different rates: the national living wage, the 18-20 year old rate, the 16-17 year old rate and the apprentice rate. No account is taken of the cost of living.

The government's proposals

The government has written to the Low Pay Commission and asked it to take the cost of living into account when recommending increases to the national living wage, and the Commission has confirmed that it will do.

The age bands will be removed and the Single Enforcement body and HMRC will have the necessary powers to ensure the genuine living wage is properly enforced.  

The government will work with these bodies to ensure that the National Minimum Wage regulations on travel time in sector with multiple working sites is enforced.  

The government has committed to reviewing the parental leave system as one of its longer term measures.

The government has committed to ensure that social value is mandatory in contract design; using public procurement to raise standards on employment rights; and ensuring that public bodies must carry out a quick and proportionate public interest test.

Existing position

Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 imposes a socio-economic duty on public bodies which means that they will have to consider how their decisions and policies could increase or decrease inequality that results from socio-economic disadvantage.

The government's proposals

The government has committed to enacting the socioeconomic duty under the Equality Act as part of its future employment law reforms.

Existing position

A terminal illness is likely to fall under the definition of a disability so there will be protection for the employee under the Equality Act 2010, however there is no specific workplace best practice guidance available.

The government's proposals

The government has committed to encouraging employers and trade unions to support workers with a terminal illness through signing up to the Dying to Work Charter;

Existing position

It is possible for an internship to be unpaid if the work is voluntary, the individual is work shadowing, or the internship is part of a UK-based further or higher education course and lasts less than a year.

The government's proposals

Unpaid internships will be banned, except when they are part of an education or training course. The government has committed to launching a Call for Evidence by the end of 2024.