Employment rights reforms introduced to Parliament

Day-one protection from unfair dismissal, significant changes to zero-hour contracts and a strengthening of protection against sexual harassment are among a raft of proposed reforms to employment law from the government.

The Employment Rights Bill brings forward 28 individual reforms, with the government’s stated aim of seeking to take a ‘pro-business, pro-worker approach’ that helps to level the playing field between employees and employers.

Among the rights being introduced are:

• Removing the existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal, making it a day-one right, subject to probation periods;
• Significant changes to the operation of zero hours contracts;
• Ending fire-and-rehire practices;
• Establishing day-one rights for paternity, parental and bereavement leave;
• Statutory sick pay will also be strengthened, removing the lower earnings limit for all workers and removing the first three waiting days;
• Flexible working becoming the default with employers only able to refuse if it is ‘reasonable’ to do so under the specified grounds;
• Strengthening the new Equality Act duty to prevent sexual harassment by taking ‘all’ reasonable steps and extending an employer’s liability to include harassment by third parties;
• Adding ‘sexual harassment’ as a specific form of protected disclosure in whistleblowing claims;
• Requiring larger businesses to create action plans on addressing gender pay gaps and supporting employees through menopause;
• Protections on redundancy ‘or dismissal’ will be strengthened for pregnant women and new mothers during or after the ‘protected period’.

As part of the proposed legislation, a new Fair Work Agency would also be created to bring together existing enforcement bodies, creating a single organisation for the public to go to for help.

The government has announced it will also consult on a new statutory probation period for new hires, which will allow for proper assessments into the suitability of individuals for roles and enable employers to fairly dismiss during a probation period (which may include taking steps specified in regulations), whilst providing people confidence to re-enter the job market or change careers.

Kerrie Hunt, Head of the Thrings Employment team, said: “With many of these policies having been showcased in Labour’s election manifesto and ‘Make Work Pay’ plans, much is as anticipated and there will be more detail to come in the form of regulations and guidance.  That said, there are a few surprises in this bill, such as third party harassment being re-introduced. Overall, it has the potential to require businesses to make significant changes to their employment policies so it would be wise to follow the bill as it progresses towards becoming law and thinking ahead.”

Thrings’ Employment lawyers are experienced in dealing with business matters that affect the workforce including managing risk and has acted for both employers and employees from start-ups and SMEs all the way to multinational corporations across a wide range of employment matters. Get in contact to find out how they can help strengthen your polices and solve your disputes.