Proposed Changes to Employment Law Outlined

As part of the legislative programme set out in the King’s Speech, the government has outlined changes to be included in the Employment Rights Bill, which is set to be introduced within the first 100 days of the new parliament.

Proposed changes include:

• Banning exploitative zero-hours contracts. Workers will have a right to a contract that reflects the hours they regularly work in practice, ensuring all jobs provide a baseline level of security and predictability. It is also proposed that workers should receive reasonable notice of shift changes, and appropriate compensation for cancelled or curtailed shifts.
• Making the right to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), parental leave and protection from unfair dismissal available from the first day for all workers. The lower earnings limit for entitlement to SSP will also be removed. Employers will still be able to operate probationary periods when taking on new staff.
• Making flexible working the default from the first day for all workers.
• Making it unlawful to dismiss women who have had a baby for six months after their return to work, except in specific circumstances.

The government also intends to remove unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity and ensure industrial relations are based around good faith negotiation and bargaining. The process of statutory recognition of trade unions is to be simplified, and a regulated route introduced to ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces.