The New Employment Rights Bill – A Comprehensive Overview

On Thursday, October 10th, the Labour government announced its New Employment Rights Bill, which provided the most comprehensive changes to Employment Law and workers’ rights the UK has seen in recent years.

The government has now published the Employment Rights Bill 2024 in its entirety, which can be found here: Employment Rights Bill (parliament. UK).

In our initial article, published before the Bill was announced, we predicted what we expected the Bill to include.  Following a full review of the Bill, Tollers experienced Employment Law Solicitors have outlined below the key provisions that Employers should be mindful of and will need to consider moving forward.

Breakdown of the new employment rights bill changes:

Changes to zero-hour contracts

Qualifying workers will have a right to be offered guaranteed hours. The offer must be made in a prescribed way. Workers also have to be given reasonable notice of shifts and have a right to payment for cancelled shifts.

Day one flexible working rights

Flexible working will be the default from day one of employment for all workers and employers will be required to accommodate flexible working from day one as far as is practical. Requests can be refused, but refusal must be reasonable and must be for a specific ground, such as:

• the burden of additional costs;
• detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand;
• inability to re-organise work among existing staff;
• inability to recruit additional staff;
• detrimental impact on quality;
• detrimental impact on performance;
• insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work;
• planned structural changes;
• any other grounds specified by the Secretary of State in regulations

These are similar to what is already in place, but now an employer must:

• state the ground or grounds for refusing the application, and
• explain why the employer considers that it is reasonable to refuse the application on that ground or those grounds.

Statutory Sick Pay changes: lower earnings limits 

The lower earnings limit to qualify for SSP has been removed, as has the waiting period. This means that SSP is payable from day 1 of the sickness absence and not day 4.

Allocation of tips

Employers must consult with a trade union or elected body or employee representatives before producing a written policy about the allocation of tips. If there is no such body then consultation is with the workers who are likely to be affected by the policy. A review of the policy needs to be carried out at least once in the period of three years beginning with the first day on which the policy was first implemented and then every three years after that.  This is likely to impact on the hospitality and retail industries, as are the changes to zero-hours worker rights.

Entitlement to Leave from day one

The qualifying period of employment for parental and paternity leave is removed. This is a day one right. Bereavement Leave will be statutory for all, not just parents who have lost a child.

Employers have a new duty to prevent harassment

Employers must now take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work. Perhaps the biggest change to anti-harassment legislation is that of Third-Party Harassment. This means that an employer must not permit a third party to harass an employee in the course of their employment. The employer will be fully liable for a claim of third-party harassment where the employee is harassed by a third party and where the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. Under the Bill, the steps that may be taken include, among others:

• carrying out assessments of a specified description;
• publishing plans or policies of a specified description;
• steps relating to the reporting of sexual harassment;
• steps relating to the handling of complaints.

Employers should start reviewing their policies and procedures in order to ensure that they are aware of the changes that will be required further down the line.

Unfair dismissal protection from day one

The qualifying period of employment for unfair dismissal, which is currently two years, will be repealed. This won’t apply to the dismissal of an employee who has not yet started work. This applies to employees only and is another day one right.

Banning ‘fire and rehire’ practices

The bill states that if an employee refuses to accept new contractual terms where the alternative is dismissal, it would be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for that reason. It may, however, be permitted where there is a genuine lack of alternatives.

Redundancy rights

Collective redundancy will be required where an employer proposes to make 20 or more redundancies in the whole business. Previously it was 20 or more redundancies in one “establishment”.

Equality Action Plans

Where an employer has more than 250 employees, they must publish an equality action plan showing the steps that they are taking in relation to their employees with regard to prescribed matters related to gender equality, and also publish prescribed information relating to the plan.

Employment Tribunal Time Limits

It would appear that the time limit to bring an Employment Tribunal claim will remain at three months.

Protection for New Mothers

It will become unlawful to dismiss a new mother for six months after her return to work, except in certain circumstances.

Trade Union Laws

The Bill has announced that Trade Union legislation will be updated to fit the modern economy. Labour plans to repeal The Trade Union Act 2016, which introduced several restrictions on the organisation of lawful industrial action. Trade Unions will be given a reasonable right to access workplaces. The Bill also announces that employers will have a duty to inform new employees of their right to join a trade union and to remind existing staff of this right regularly.

When will the changes proposed by the bill come into effect?

If you have read the above and are concerned that you have not adapted to the changes yet, do not worry. The changes outlined above will not come into effect immediately, with the indication being that they may not come into effect until October 2026. There will need to be a period of consultation first, which we understand the government has indicated would be for nine months.  We will of course update you when we know more.

How will this impact your business?

Nothing in the immediate term. Employers will need to be mindful of the changes outlined in the Employment Rights Bill 2024 so that they can be proactive when the changes come into force legally.

We will be keeping a close eye on the changes and will be focussing on each of the key provisions in turn, so that you can understand what they mean to you in more detail.

How can Tollers help your business adapt to the new employment rights bill?

At Tollers, we have you covered. Our Employment team offers a bespoke ‘HR Package’ designed to help you manage the HR side of your business. We work as part of your team and you will receive advice from qualified employment lawyers. Not only that but Tollers HR partners with an independent insurance intermediary, who can provide tribunal indemnity insurance, which helps risk exposure to your business.

Visit our Tollers HR page for more information.

Talk to Tollers

For more information on how the Employment Rights Bill 2024 could affect you as an employer and your employees…Talk to Tollers on 01604 258558.  Our highly experienced Employment law and HR specialists are here to ensure you remain up to date and advise you throughout the process.