Government consultation: Employment Rights Bill

The government has announced four separate consultations seeking views on various

provisions in the Employment Rights Bill.

Zero-hours

To tackle one-sided flexibility in zero-hours contracts, the consultation seeks views on how to best apply these measures to agency workers without causing unintended consequences. In the future, the government will consult on implementing these measures more generally.

Industrial Relations

With a focus on creating a modern framework for industrial relations, the government seeks to examine how trade unions are currently regulated.

The consultation seeks views on updating trade union legislation, including:

• simplifying the requirements on industrial action ballots and notice
• strengthening provisions to prevent unfair practices during trade union recognition
• removing the ten-year requirement for unions to ballot members on the maintenance of a political fund
• securing a mandate for negotiation and dispute resolution
• extending the expiry of a trade union’s mandate for industrial action from six to 12 months
• reducing the industrial action notice period
• updating the law on repudiation and ‘prior call’
• the enforcement mechanism for the request for access to a workplace

Redundancy & fire and rehire

To strengthen the collective redundancy framework and protect employees against fire and rehire practices., The Bill proposes changes to the law on fire and rehire, automatically making the situation unfair unless the business is in significant financial difficulties.

For collective redundancy, views are sought on an increase to the protective award compensation that a tribunal can order, and two options are being considered:

• Increasing the protective award from 90 to 180 days per employee
• Removing the cap on the protective award

Additionally, should interim relief be available to employees who bring claims for the protective award?

The intention is to gather views on doubling the minimum consultation period when an employer proposes 100 or more dismissals from 45 to 90 days.

For fire and rehire, views are sought on whether interim relief should be available to employees who bring an unfair dismissal claim under the new right which will be introduced.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

The government proposes to remove the waiting period for SSP and the lower earnings limit to ensure it is available to all employees from day one of their sickness absence regardless of their earnings. SSP payments would be set as a prescribed percentage of normal weekly earnings, and the consultation will seek views on the percentage replacement rate.

Comment

The consultations are open until 2 December 2024, with the fourth consultation running until 4 December 2024, and offer individuals a crucial opportunity to have their say.

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