Employment Rights Bill – what’s in the legislation?

By Anna Jordan on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

UPDATED: The Employment Rights Bill is in its final stages, following proposed changes from the House of Lords which have been rejected by the House of Commons.

The House of Lords is due to meet again on November 17 to discuss Commons amendments made on November 5. In the meantime, we thought we’d give you the latest.

What’s in the Employment Rights Bill?

Some of the proposed measures in the original bill are as follows:

• The two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal will be scrapped. Instead, employees will have protection from day one on the job
• Consultations will take place on a statutory probation period for new hires (nine months is being proposed). The idea is to allow proper suitability for the role while giving employees reassurance from their first day
• Flexible working will be the default where practical
• Employers will be required to create action plans on addressing gender pay gaps and supporting employees through the menopause, as well as protections against dismissal for expectant and new mothers
• A new Fair Work Agency will be introduced, combining existing enforcement bodies to make sure employees get holiday pay and allow business owners to seek help with the new rules

What is still to be decided?

Here are a few of the sticking points from the political ‘ping pong’ in the last month. Read the latest parliamentary document here.

Unfair dismissal

There’s been a lot of back and forth on the wording of the section on unfair dismissal, with the Lords unhappy about giving workers unfair dismissal rights from day one. It’s a part of the bill the Commons are unlikely to budge on, with the response, ‘Because it is appropriate for protection from unfair dismissal to apply from the beginning of a person’s employment’ coming up repeatedly.

Definition of ‘seasonal work’

The Lords want seasonal work to be defined as (quote):

(a) is performed during a particular period or periods of the year,
(b) recurs substantially in the same periods each year,
(c) is directly linked to a predictable and temporary increase in demand for
labour during those periods,
(d) includes work in sectors where such patterns are common, including but
not limited to—
(i) agriculture and horticulture,
(ii) the creative industries, including theatre and live performance,
(iii) retail,
(iv) hospitality, and
(v) tourism and events, and
(e) is entered into for a fixed duration not exceeding 26 weeks to meet the
temporary demand

The Commons believes this amendment to be unnecessary.

Trade unions and industrial action

The Lords want to see amendments to Clause 65: “This clause repeals section 2 of the Trade Union Act 2016 and makes consequential amendments to Schedule 4 to that Act. Section 2 required at least 50% of the trade union members entitled to vote to do so in order for the industrial action ballot to be valid. The law will revert to requiring a simple majority of those voting for a ballot conducted by a trade union for industrial action to be successful.”

To which the Commons responded: “Because it is appropriate to remove the provision that industrial action is regarded as having the support of a ballot only if at least 50% of those eligible to vote in the ballot did so.”

Mixed responses

As predicted, there has been mixed responses to what a a rather controversial bill. We’ve included a small sample below.

Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said:

“The government has missed an opportunity today to intervene and help businesses cope with Make Work Pay. It needs to focus more on building up businesses’ confidence to hire and grow.

“Ministers must put the work in and understand the damage that taking such a threatening approach to hundreds of thousands of small employers will do.

“The chief concerns among small businesses remain the threat of being taken to court as soon as they take a risk hiring someone, the affordability of proposals on sick pay, and the sheer unworkability of other parts of this mass of complex new rules.

“We hope the government will move from asserting that these changes are pro-business to making that a reality.”

Jane Gratton, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the BCC, said:

“Employers will be relieved to see some amendments, at what is clearly a milestone moment for Government. It has consulted business – and this is reflected in some of the decisions on the future shape of the legislation. There is much here to welcome as sensible moves that will help ensure that employment works for both the business and the individual, including the nine-month statutory probation period and the promise of a light touch approach, as well as simplifying rules on collective consultation. 

“But businesses remain cautious, and it is important to continue ensuring the Bill strikes the right balance.  Employers will look forward to hearing, engaging with and shaping further detail. The government must continue its positive approach to engagement with firms and remain open to changes. Doing so will ensure this legislation is proportionate, affordable, and right for both firms and their employees.”

Julie Abraham, CEO of Richer Sounds said:

“At Richer Sounds, we have always put the treatment and wellbeing of our colleagues at the forefront of everything we do.  Any responsible business will know that well-treated and well-paid colleagues will be beneficial in numerous ways.  

“Happy colleagues are likely to be more productive. This also leads to reduced stock loss and higher staff retention, which in turn, minimises recruitment and training costs, not to mention disruption to established teams. We support any government legislation that will help end exploitative working practices and improve the lives of working people.”

Neil Carberry, CEO of Recruitment & Employment Confederation, said:

“Regulating the umbrella market closes a loophole in addressing non-compliance. Recruiters have long called for regulations that ensure a level playing-field. Like all aspects of the Government’s changes, proper enforcement will be key to protecting both businesses and workers.”

Read more

How to manage an employee’s pay rise request – If an employee has come to you with a pay rise request, what do you do? Here are five tips to help achieve the best outcome for both parties

The post Employment Rights Bill – what’s in the legislation? appeared first on Small Business UK.