On 17th July 2024, the Labour party, in the King’s Speech, set out their agenda for their intended legislative changes in their first few months in government.
The new government will likely introduce an “Employment Rights Bill” (the “Bill”), which will set out a number of changes which will affect both employers and employees in the coming months.
Some of the proposed changes are set out below:
- Entitlement to parental leave and sick pay will be a day 1 right.
- Protection from unfair dismissal may also become a day 1 right (subject to rules on probationary periods).
- A ban on zero hour contracts, ensuring workers have a right to a contract which reflects the hours that they regularly work.
- A removal of the lower earnings limit.
- Flexible working rights will be a default for all workers from day 1 and employers will have to accommodate the requests as far as reasonably possible.
- Employees who return from maternity leave will have protection from dismissal for a period of 6 months after their return, subject to certain exceptions. This is similar to the current protection from dismissal that employees have.
There is no guarantee that all the above will be included in the Bill, but these are just some of the proposals from the new government.
Further, there is a proposal to introduce an “Equality (Race and Disability) Bill” which focuses on equal pay for disabled people and those from ethnic minorities. The bill will also set out proposed mandatory disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting.
Please note that this is only a brief summary and is not intended to be legal advice. Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any other aspect of employment law at 02920 345 511 or employment@berrysmith.com