The government’s new Employment Rights Bill part of its Plan to Make Work Pay marks the most significant upgrade to UK employment law in decades.
Its aim? To make work fairer, safer, and more secure; but for HR leaders, it means a wave of legal and operational change that will redefine everything from contracts to culture.
1. Fair Work and Job Security
The Bill tackles one-sided flexibility and insecure work by introducing:
- End to exploitative zero-hours contracts, bringing guaranteed hours, fair notice, and compensation for cancelled shifts.
- Ban on ‘fire and rehire’, with dismissals for refusing contract changes becoming automatically unfair.
- Day-one unfair dismissal rights, balanced with a new statutory probation framework.
- Stronger redundancy obligations, closing consultation loopholes for UK and maritime employers.
2. Fair Pay and Working Conditions
Key financial and contractual protections include:
- Strengthened Statutory Sick Pay with no lower earnings limit, no waiting period.
- Fair Pay Agreements for adult social care workers.
- New tipping consultation rules to ensure transparency.
- Reintroduction of the Two-Tier Code protecting outsourced workers.
- Mandatory Seafarers’ Charter to improve maritime working standards.
3. Family-Friendly and Flexible Working Reforms
The Bill boosts flexibility and inclusion with:
- Day-one rights for paternity and unpaid parental leave.
- New unpaid bereavement leave for all employees.
- Stronger protections for maternity and pregnancy, extending six months post-return.
- Enhanced flexible working rules; refusals must now be reasonable and justified.
4. Equality, Wellbeing, and Inclusion
Employers must now:
- Take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment including from third parties.
- Protect whistleblowers who report harassment.
- Publish action plans to address gender pay gaps and support employees through menopause.
5. Enforcement and Trade Union Reform
- Creation of a new Fair Work Agency to enforce pay, holiday, and agency laws.
- Tribunal claim limits extended from 3 to 6 months.
- Simplified trade union rules, repealing restrictive strike legislation.
Timeline and Next Steps
The Bill is expected to pass in 2025, with most changes coming into effect no earlier than 2026.
Now is the time for HR teams to:
- Audit contracts and dismissal procedures
- Review zero-hour and flexible working policies
- Update manager training on equality and harassment prevention
- Prepare communication plans for upcoming changes
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