Record-breaking Employment Rights Bill one step closer to becoming law

It has roughly doubled in length since it was first published, thanks to numerous Government amendments, and is now (probably) the longest ever employment-related Bill.

Key changes made to the Employment Rights Bill since it was first introduced to the House of Commons include:-

• Increasing the time limit for bringing employment tribunal claims from three to six months
• Extending the protections planned for directly engaged workers with zero-hours contracts to agency workers
• Doubling the maximum compensation payable for breach of collective consultation obligations.

While these changes will certainly increase legal protections for workers, there are some signs that the Government is listening to concerns expressed by the business community about the adverse effects of excessive employment regulation.

Some plans have been dropped – for example the right to disconnect and the introduction of interim relief in fire and re-hire cases. This shows the Government could be open to persuasion when defining the detail of these new rights, most of which will be set out in regulations to be published in the coming months.

My firm, Mills & Reeve, will continue to track the progress of the Bill and assess its impact. You can read more about the employment-related provisions in our recently updated briefing here –

www.mills-reeve.com/publications/employment-rights-bill-2024/