The government has announced it will amend the Employment Rights Bill following consultations with business groups and trade unions.
Its amendments taken into consideration the differing views and needs of workers, businesses, and the whole economy, aiming to deliver measures that support mutual interests. These are part of its commitment to working with businesses and trade unions on its Make Work Pay plan, as well as its Plan for Change to tackle low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security.
Stakeholder views have also informed the government’s responses to five consultations. These include giving increased security for workers employed by agencies to receive reasonable notice of shifts and pay when they are cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice, to ensure agency work does not become a loophole in plans to end zero hours contracts.
It will also make statutory sick pay (SSP) a legal right for all workers for the first time, allowing them to either receive 80% of their average weekly earnings or the current rate of SSP, depending on which is lower. Employees will also have a right to SSP from the first day of sickness absence.
In addition, the government will increase the maximum period of the protective redundancy award from 90 days to 180 days, issuing further employer guidance on consultation processes for collective redundancies, and updating the legislative framework in which trade unions operate to align it with modern work practices.
It will also act to ensure that workers can access comparable rights and protections when working through an umbrella company to those they would receive when taken on directly by a recruitment agency. Enforcement action can be taken against anyone who does not comply.
Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister, said: “We are turning the tide with the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, boosting living standards and bringing with it an upgrade to our growth prospects and the reforms our economy so desperately needs. We have been working closely with businesses and workers to progress this landmark bill and deliver our Plan for Change, unleashing growth and making work pay for everyone.”
Mark Williams, managing director EMEA at WorkJam, added: “UK businesses who rely heavily on zero hour contracts may feel concerned by the announcements made around the Employment Rights Bill, which will ban zero hour contracts for all employees, including agency workers. From 2026, when the bill is set to be passed, businesses will have to guarantee workers a minimum number of hours each week and offer compensation if shifts are changed at short notice. This will undoubtedly have a huge impact on business costs for hospitality, retail and healthcare industries, to name just a few. They will bleed hours and bleed money if they don’t prepare accordingly”
Rachel Suff, wellbeing adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said: “We are mindful that a minority of low earners could potentially be worse off under the SSP reform as they will only get 80% of their salary when ill. There also needs to be further review of SSP to make it more flexible, for example to help employees with fluctuating health conditions. More flexibility in how SSP is paid could help support people with phased returns from sick leave, when they may be fit for some work but cannot return to their usual hours. SSP as part of a phased return to work would give people a safety net to return to work, helping them build back up to their usual arrangement while still being able to access financial support for the time they can’t work.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary at trade union Unite, added: “Unite has been ensuring that the workers’ voice is heard every step of the way so that a fairer environment for workers is created. In many areas the government had listened and acted. For decades workers’ rights have been pushed down the agenda. This is the first time in a generation that workers’ rights have been taken seriously.”
