Government unveils Employment Rights Bill amendments as “right to switch off” is axed

The Employment Rights Bill, one of the government’s flagship pieces of new legislation has taken another step forward towards becoming law with the publishing of its proposed amends.

The original draft of the Bill was introduced to Parliament last year, with a range of reforms including making paternity, parental and bereavement leave, and protection from unfair dismissal day-one rights, as well as ending fire-and-rehire practices strengthened protections against sexual harassment and making significant changes to zero-hour contracts.

Having progressed through the Commons, the initial proposals were subjected to a series of public consultations, with the Bill having now emerged from the Committee stage with more than 250 amendments of varying significance.

One key feature of Labour’s election campaign still missing from the proposed legislation, however, is the “right to switch off” outside working hours. Whilst some commentators have claimed this means the policy is being ditched, the government has suggested it could be introducing the right via another mechanism – although how this would happen is yet to be explained.

Among the notable changes to the Bill are:

• Zero-hour contracts ban for agency workers – Among the government’s measures to tackle the one-sided flexibility of zero-hour contracts is an amendment to extend the new measures around guaranteed hours, shift changes and cancellations to agency workers, with the aim to ensure agency work does not become a loophole to the end of exploitative zero-hour contracts;
• Increased awards for collective redundancy – To help encourage compliance, this will double the maximum amount of award employment tribunals can demand employers pay their staff if redundancy consultation requirements aren’t met – from 90 days’ pay to 180 – with further guidance to follow to help employers meeting their obligations;
• Statutory statutory sick pay for all low-earners – This would extend the proposed day one rights to SSP to employees currently earning below the lower earnings limit of £123 a week who are not currently eligible. They would receive either 80% of their average weekly earnings or the current rate of SSP, whichever is lower.

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