During the election campaign, the Labour Party’s ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ (the New Deal for working people) proposed significant employment law reforms which focused on employment issues such as low wages, zero hours contracts and fire and rehire.
The Labour Government delivered its first King’s Speech on 17 July which promised to introduce an Employment Rights Bill within the first one hundred days of office and committed to delivering the following:
Zero hours contracts
The Government has confirmed it will ban ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts with the aim of ending one-sided flexibility. This proposal will ensure the right to a contract reflecting the number of hours regularly worked based on a 12-week reference period and will, according to Labour, provide working people with greater security.
Flexible working
The Conservatives made the right to request flexible working a day one right back in April. However, Labour has proposed to go one step further by making flexible working the default for all workers unless it is not reasonably feasible.
Other day one rights
Parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal will be made available to all workers from the first day of employment.
Protection for new mothers
It will be unlawful to dismiss those returning from maternity leave for six months after their return to work, except in specific circumstances (to be defined).
Fire & Rehire
Labour will seek to ban ‘Fire & Rehire’ in anything other than exceptional circumstances, e.g. where it would be the only way of preserving the viability of a business and / or its workforce (albeit that it will still require appropriate dialogue with affected employees). The practice will also be subject to a more robust Code of Practice.
We await further details on Labour’s employment law reforms, which look set to have a significant impact on employers. If you need further advice about anything in this article in the meantime, or have any other HR, Employment Law or Health, Safety & Wellbeing issues, contact us on 01942 727200 or email enquiries@employeemanagement.co.uk and speak to a member of the team without obligation.