Employment Rights Bill Update
Details of the Employment Rights Bill were officially published in October 2024.
Book a free consultation
with an expert lawyer
Need legal advice? Our experienced lawyers are here to help. Whether it’s c, business setup, or legal disputes, get personalised guidance tailored to your needs.
Book consultation

The comprehensive details of the Employment Rights Bill, which was initially introduced during the King’s Speech on July 17, 2024, as part of Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay, were officially published in October 2024.

According to supporting notes from the Department for Business and Trade, these reforms are described as “landmark,” aiming to provide “economic security and growth” for businesses, workers, and communities across the UK. The implementation will take a phased approach, with some changes requiring primary legislation while others will rely on Codes of Practice or adjustments to existing bodies like the Low Pay Commission. Employers are advised to stay vigilant to remain compliant as these changes unfold.

Notably, the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2024, which had received Royal Assent, has been discontinued. Its provisions for enhancing security for individuals on zero-hours contracts are now incorporated into the broader Employment Rights Bill.

Consultations for these reforms are anticipated to begin in 2025, with implementation likely in 2026. However, three consultations have already been launched:

  1. Making Work Pay: Addressing zero-hours contract measures for agency workers. Making Work Pay: the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency     workers - GOV.UK
  2. Making Work Pay: Establishing a modern framework for industrial relations Making Work Pay: creating a modern framework for industrial relations - GOV.UK
  3. Making Work Pay: Examining collective redundancy practices and "fire and rehire" policies. Making Work Pay: collective redundancy and fire and rehire - GOV.UK

Government’s Next Steps

Aside from consultations, the government are also committed to implementing the following in due course:

  • a ‘right to switch off’ - which will prevent employees from being contacted out of hours, except in exceptional circumstances
  • a requirement for large employers to report their ethnicity and disability pay gap
  • a move towards a single status of worker and transition towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status
  • reviews into the parental leave and carers leave systems to ensure they are delivering for employers, workers and their loved ones.