On the day of election results, the Laytons team looked into their crystal ball to see what the Employment Law landscape might look like under a Labour government.
Following the King’s speech, we now have clarity on the Prime Minister’s legislative programme and the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill.
The key takeaway was, unsurprisingly, an emphasis on banning “exploitative” employment practices and enhancing employment rights, as set out by Labour in their “New Deal for Working People” during their campaign. In effect, it would seem that the New Deal for Working People will be implemented almost in full.
Summary of proposed provisions
We have summarised below some of the key provisions the Bill will include, according to the briefing notes published by the Prime Minister’s Office:
A ban on exploitative zero hour contracts;
Ensuring workers have a right to a regular hour contract based on average hours worked;
A ban on exploitative “fire and rehire” practices;
Day one unfair dismissal rights;
Day one parental leave entitlement;
Day one flexible working rights for workers except in certain circumstances;
Day one sick pay entitlement;
Removal of lower income limits for statutory sick pay;
Mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for large employers (over 250 employees);
Extending discrimination and unlawful dismissal protection for new mothers to 6 months after return to work except in certain circumstances;
Update and streamline trade union legislation;
Establish the Fair Work Agency, a stand-alone enforcement body to monitor compliance with workplace rights;
The right to equal pay for ethic minorities and disabled people will be enshrined in the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.
What does this mean for employers?
We will need to wait for the Bill itself to know exactly how these provisions will affect employers, as much will depend on the wording of the legislation.
What is clear however is that employers will need to carefully review their contracts and policies.
Zero-hour contracts will need to be reviewed to ensure that they are not “exploitative”, and further consideration given to how hours of work are allocated in light of the new right to regular hour contracts.
More importance will likely be given to probation periods and enhanced performance monitoring throughout employment (poor performance remaining a potentially fair reason for dismissal).
Stringent application of (updated) company policies will be key to limiting potential claims, for example when refusing flexible working requests, as will training managers and decision makers to ensure they are aware of their new obligations.
We will continue to keep you updated in this Labour’s changing labour landscape.
