Today the Labour government is introducing the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.
The Employment Rights Bill will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire, and introduce basic employment rights from day one – like paternity and parental leave, and protection from unfair dismissal. It also introduces right to bereavement leave from day one.
It will replace out-of-date employment laws, helping to boost pay and productivity with legislation fit for a modern economy.
This is the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, and a significant step towards delivering this government’s plan to make work pay.
✔️ End to exploitative zero-hour contracts & unscrupulous fire & rehire practices.
✔️ Tackling low pay by accounting for cost of living when setting the Minimum Wage & removing discriminatory age bands.
✔️ Strengthening statutory sick pay, removing the lower earnings limit for all workers & cutting out the waiting period before sick pay kicks in.
✔️ Establishing rights to bereavement & parental leave from day one.
✔️ Removing the existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal.
✔️ Flexible working made the default where practical.
✔️ Protections for pregnant women & new mothers returning to work will be strengthened, including protection from dismissal whilst pregnant, on maternity leave & within six months of returning to work.
✔️ A new Fair Work Agency bringing together existing enforcement bodies will be established to enforce rights such as holiday pay & support employers looking for guidance on how to comply with the law.