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Sally Brandon

Employment Rights Bill 2024 - What does it mean for your business?

Yesterday Labour unveiled the hotly anticipated  proposed changes to the Employment Rights Bill.


For a lot of us HR folk that were hoping for more details it was underwhelming, and there were some expected changes that are missing. But it is still important as the bill is a significant step towards Labour enacting one of its key election pledges to "Make Work Pay".


Here is a  breakdown of what you need to know, but don't panic. Many of the changes still need to be consulted on and won’t be introduced until October 2026 so you have time to prepare and get ready.


🦉Day-one rights


Workers will qualify for protection against unfair dismissal from day one (previously, employees must have been at their place of work for at least two years in order to qualify).


Day-one rights for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave (maternity leave is already a day-one right). A full review of all parental-leave rights is promised alongside the bill but there is no detail yet.

There will also be a requirement for employers to establish a policy for bereavement leave.


🦉Sick pay


There will be a universal entitlement to sick pay from the first day of illness for employees rather than from day four and the removal of the lower earnings limit (currently employees have to earn a minimum of £123 per week to qualify for SSP)


🦉Probation


The government will consult on a statutory probation period of nine months for new hires but employees will still be able to claim for unfair dismissal.


🦉Zero-hours contracts.


In a bid to end exploitative zero hours contracts prospective hires are to be offered guaranteed working hours if they want them. Those workers, along with those on low-hours contracts, will have the right to a guaranteed-hours contract if they work regular hours over a defined period (Labour’s original proposal said this period would be 12 weeks). 


Employees will also request to remain on zero-hours contracts if that is what they would prefer.


🦉Fire and rehire


Fire and rehire practices will be banned in all but the most extreme circumstances, meaning employers will no longer be able to sack employees and rehire them on worse terms and conditions. 


There will be some caveats which unions necessarily don't agree with options like  businesses at risk of complete collapse may be able to alter terms and conditions if it prevents it going bust.


🦉Flexible working


The law will change to make flexible working the default “where practical”. This means it will be harder for a request to be refused. It is not yet clear on what the parameters will be for businesses to decline a request but they will have that option if there is a valid reason.


There will also be stronger protections against dismissal during pregnancy and after returning to work from maternity leave.


🦉Minimum wage


The remit of the Low Pay Commission is due to change so it must take into account the cost of living when setting the minimum wage and remove all the age bands that set lower minimum wage for younger staff. 


🦉Enforcement


A enforcement body called the Fair Work Agency will be established which will bring together existing enforcement bodies. It will also be in charge of enforcing rights such as holiday pay. The full remit of the new body is not likely to be clear until all the measures in the bill have been consulted on or enacted.


🦉What’s missing?


There are some gaps in the bill with some changes Labour made in its original “new deal for working people” missing. The Government has said they will publish a document that will promise to implement at least 30 more proposals, including:


🦉 The ‘right to switch off’, preventing employees from being contacted out of hours, except in exceptional circumstances.


🦉a move towards creating a single status of worker and a move towards a simpler two-part framework for employment status to differentiate between works and the self employed


🦉reviews into the parental leave and carers leave systems to ensure they are delivering for employers, workers and their loved ones.


🦉a requirement for large employers to report their ethnicity and disability pay gap.


What should I do now?


That is a lot to get your head around so step one is to find an HR Consultant you are comfortable working with, to support to help guide you through the changes in good time so you are not running around like a headless chicken at the last minute making sure you are legally compliant.


If you don't know where to start book in a free no obligation 30 minute call with me.







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