The UK government is planning significant changes to employment rights through the Employment Rights Bill, which it claims represents the most substantial update in a generation. However, recent modifications and delays to some reforms have raised questions about their implementation and effectiveness.
Originally, the bill proposed that workers could claim unfair dismissal from day one of employment, eliminating the current two-year qualifying period. After consultations that highlighted business opposition, the government has revised this proposal to allow claims after six months instead. This alteration is seen as a departure from previous commitments made in Labour’s election manifesto.
The bill, which applies to England, Scotland, and Wales, will also introduce guaranteed hours for workers on zero-hours contracts after they have worked a set number of hours over 12 weeks. Additionally, employees will have the right to reasonable notice for shift changes and compensation for cancelled shifts.
Flexible working arrangements will become standard, with employers required to consider requests for adaptability from the first day of employment, unless they can substantiate a strong business reason to deny such requests. However, the effectiveness of these changes in practice remains uncertain, as employers may still have various grounds to refuse flexible working.
Statutory Sick Pay will be extended, allowing employees to receive it from the first day of illness, and the existing earnings threshold will be removed, benefiting around 1.3 million low-paid workers. The bill also proposes allowing unpaid parental and bereavement leave from the first day of employment.
The “fire and rehire” practice, which permits employers to dismiss workers and rehire them under less favorable conditions, is set to be restricted, except for companies at risk of insolvency.
Notably, some proposed measures, such as a “right to switch off” and a single status for workers, do not feature in the current bill and may need to be addressed later due to legal complexities.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0l19j9jgko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss