Employment Rights Bill & The Next Steps

Introduction

Prior to the General Election the Labour Party had written a document called ‘Make Work Pay’, which set out their plans for changes to employment legislation. Since being elected to government in July 2024 the new Labour Government has set out an Employment Rights Bill, containing much of the proposed changes. There is also an Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, specifically addressing equal pay and pay reporting and issues relevant to employment in the Skills England Bill and the Pension Schemes Bill.

Not all of the items covered in the ‘Make Work Pay’ document are in the Employment Rights Bill. Some are contained in a further document setting out the next steps (mostly because they will require further consultation).

The changes, particularly those in the Employment Rights Bill, are heralded as the biggest change to employment legislation in a generation.

In this virtual classroom seminar Professor Kathy Daniels will work through the contents of the Employment Rights Bill, looking at what they mean for employers and what preparations it might be useful to make. She will also look at the ‘next steps’, identifying what forms parts of the Government’s future plans. In addition to explaining the contents she will explain the process that needs to take place before the contents become law. There will be the opportunity to ask questions, and share approaches to preparing for the changes.

All of the Bills will be covered, with some examples of the many changes.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• The right to claim unfair dismissal, sick pay and parental leave from day one of employment
• Banning of exploitative zero hour contracts
• Banning of using ‘fire and rehire’ to vary employment contracts
• Reforming Statutory Sick Pay
• Removing age bands for the National Minimum/Living Wage
• Making flexible working the default from day one of employment as far as is reasonable
• Making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work, apart from in specific circumstances

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.