King Charles III delivered the King’s Speech in Parliament on 17 July 2024 for the opening of Parliament.
We set out, in our recent article, Labour’s plans to radically reform several aspects of employment law. The government’s proposals were reiterated in the King’s Speech which referred to a number of bills of interest for employment law practitioners, including the Employment Rights Bill and Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
The government also published background briefing notes to the King’s Speech, describing the legislative programme in much greater detail.
We summarise here the key employment law headlines set out in the King’s Speech.
The Employment Rights Bill:
- Banning “exploitative” zero hours contracts
Workers are to have the right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work and reasonable notice of any changes in shift will be given, with proportionate compensation for any cancelled or curtailed shifts.
- Ending the practice of ‘fire and re-hire’
The new statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (the Code) that was approved in April 2024 by the previous Conservative government, and brought into effect on 18 July 2024, is expected to be reformed by the now Labour government to provide effective remedies as they consider the current code to be “inadequate”.
- Day one rights
Rights to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal will be made available from day one for all workers. Presently employees must have worked for one year to qualify for parental leave; employees and workers currently qualify for statutory sick pay after three sickness days of absence and employees are protected from unfair dismissal once they have two years’ continuous service. Flexible working will also be made the default position from day one for all workers and employers will be required to accommodate this “as far as is reasonable”.
Further clarification is awaited, although it is reported that removal of the current unfair dismissal qualifying period of two years’ service will not prevent employees from being fairly dismissed. The background briefing notes indicate that employers would still be able to operate probationary periods to assess new hires and these may be used as a trigger to fairly dismiss employees who are not meeting expectations.
- Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
It is expected that the lower earnings limit will be removed so that SSP is available to all workers and self-employed individuals, and the current three-day waiting period will be removed.
- Protections for new mothers
It is expected that, for a woman who has had a baby, it will be made unlawful to dismiss her at any time during the six months after her return to work (except in specific circumstances).
- Establishing a ‘Fair Work Agency’
A new ‘Single Enforcement Body’, also known as a ‘Fair Work Agency’, will be established to deliver more effective enforcement of employment rights for vulnerable workers.
- Updating trade union legislation
The new Labour government intends to update trade union legislation so that it is “fit for a modern economy” by, removing unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity and ensuring industrial relations are based around good faith negotiation and bargaining. The process of statutory recognition will be simplified and a regulated route will be introduced to ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces.
- Reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body
It is expected that, once reinstated, the School Support Staff Negotiating Body will be tasked with establishing national terms and conditions handbook, training, career progression routes and fair pay rates for support staff.
- Establishing a ‘Fair Pay Agreement’ in the adult social care sector
It is expected that there will be a wide consultation on the design of a ‘Fair Pay Agreement’ before establishing a new ‘Fair Pay Agreement’ in the adult social care sector.
Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
The Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will introduce a statutory right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people and mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for large employers with more than 250 employees.
The Labour government has indicated that it will consult on how to implement these proposals before legislation is passed. The introduction of protection against unfair dismissal as a day one right is perhaps the most significant potential change that has been placed on the horizon, as anticipated by the Labour Party’s ‘New Deal’.
In addition to the two bills outlined above, there has been a commitment to deliver a “genuine living wage that accounts for the cost of living” with the intention of removing the existing age bands for the minimum wage which will not require the introduction of new, primary legislation.
If you require any assistance on the topics covered or would like to discuss other employment law matters, please contact either Nick Smith or Laura Liddle of the Mincoffs employment team.
