The King’s Speech itself made passing reference to “legislation to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights”. The Prime Minister’s briefing notes on the King’s Speech give the detail, and at first glance it certainly seems like Labour are hitting the ground running with implementing their ‘New Deal for Working People’ in full.
According to the briefing notes, the Employment Rights Bill will include:
• Making parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from Day 1 (subject to special rules for probationary periods)
• Banning zero-hour contracts, making sure that workers have a right to a contract that reflects the hours they regularly work
• Ending ‘fire and rehire’ and ‘fire and replace’ by reforming the law and replacing the statutory code
• Removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
• Making flexible working the default for all workers from day one and requiring employers to accommodate this as far as is reasonable
• Making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after she comes back to work (with certain exceptions)
• Creating the Fair Work Agency to enforce workplace rights
• Introducing a Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector
• Repealing the law on minimum service levels in relation to industrial action
• Simplifying the process of statutory recognition for trade unions
• Introducing a right for workers and union members to access a union within workplaces
Watch this space!
