Employment Rights Bill cleared to become law

The Employment Rights Bill has been cleared to become law having passed through the House of Lords.

An amendment had been tabled by Conservative peer Lord Sharpe, the shadow business and trade minister, but it was withdrawn after a short debate.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "We have just introduced the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation... Today our plans passed through parliament, and will soon become law.”

The bill, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, is expected to gain royal assent this week.

It will be gradually introduced into law over the next two years, culminating in 2027 with measures including ending zero-hours contracts to provide workers with stable hours and predictable income.

Other measures in the bill include day one access to sick pay and paternity leave and new protections for pregnant women and new mothers. It also includes tightening up on tipping regulations and further harassment protections.

Plans to offer workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from their first day of employment were amended last month to reduce the qualifying period to six months.

Conservative MPs had warned that the bill would “limit flexibility for both employers and employees”, particularly with regard to employing agency workers.

UKHospitality had previously urged the Labour government to “protect the right for employees to access zero-hours contracts when they want them, instead of an outright ban”.

Chair Kate Nicholls said: “The Employment Rights Bill will still bring substantial changes and extra cost to hospitality businesses. In light of the increases to wages, business rates and other costs coming in April, it would be sensible for the Government to delay the introduction of statutory sick pay from day one by six months.

“This would give businesses much-needed breathing room and avoid further damage to employment opportunities.”

But these measures have now been passed along with the other proposals in the bill.