Briefing | UK Employment Rights Bill edges towards final stages

Some of the most significant amendments that had been successfully made by opposition peers, primarily from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrat benches, would make changes to flagship government policies on day one employment rights and zero-hours contracts. But these were voted down by the government in the House of Commons just as parliament went into recess for the annual party conference season.

Parliament has now returned, and the bill will go back to the House of Lords for consideration on 28 October. The ERB will then continue its back and forth or ‘ping pong’ between the Lords and the Commons until they reach agreement.

There’s widespread speculation that on 28 October, the Lords will again send the bill back with proposed amendments secured by opposition parties, which would mean further delays to the bill’s passage. But the government has so far signaled that it won’t back down, so even if it means further delays, it is unlikely to accept any of the changes proposed by opposition members of the House of Lords.

Royal Assent and the Employment Rights Bill

The disagreements at the ping pong stage, with potential for even more back and forth after 28 October, means Royal Assent for the bill will come later than the government planned. 

This is likely to impact some of the consultations scheduled on the government’s roadmap such as the consultation on rules for the new probation period. 

There have been some signals from the government that consultations on areas that aren’t being contested in the final stages of the bill would still begin from the end of October. So, despite some delays, the government’s roadmap still gives a good idea of the order those might come in.

For example, the consultation planned for the summer on reinstating the school support staff negotiating body went ahead as planned and the consultation on the fair pay agreement for adult social care has already been launched.

Which leaves open the possibility that consultations around bereavement leave, fire and rehire and others in the roadmap could also go ahead as planned. While consultations on the new probation period, zero-hours contracts and some trade union measures could continue to be delayed.

Once the bill has reached Royal Assent, the implementation process set out in the government roadmap will begin in earnest. Each consultation will allow organisations to feed into the details of the relevant measure, for example, what the new probation period will look like in practice.

As the CIPD, we will be giving evidence, through written consultations to the government, alongside direct engagement with civil servants and ministers.

When would the Employment Rights Act come into force?

The government’s roadmap is still the best guide for when the majority of measures in the enacted bill would come into force. Only those that will come in when the bill passes are directly subject to delays. However, the delays to the start of the consultations could create some tight deadlines for the government. This has the potential to impact the implementation of some key measures so it would be something to watch out for. At this stage it’s more likely that guidance or details of some changes will come later than planned, rather than specific measures being implemented at a later date.

In the meantime, HR professionals should be making sure they are ready for measures like the changes to Statutory Sick Pay, which are set to come in April, and which don’t need further detailed consultation. They should also be prepared for the later-than-planned arrival of some of the detail of measures where consultation is needed.

Key takeaways for HR

• Watch out for key consultations. The CIPD will be responding to consultations and will upload links to any new consultations to our website for any organisations interested in responding directly.
• Prepare for change. Employers will need to review their policies to ensure they are compliant with the law as the bill progresses. Understanding what measures are set to come in and when will be important – as will looking out for new guidance as it is published.
• What the CIPD is doing. The CIPD will be giving evidence to government through written consultations, alongside direct engagement with civil servants and ministers to inform the detailed regulations. And we will be working with partners and organisations like Acas to support relevant guidance for employers and HR professionals.

The Employment Rights Bill will be one of the biggest changes in employment law in a generation. CIPD members can keep up to date on the latest through our employment law hub.