King's Speech Confirms an Employment Rights Bill for Great Britain

The briefing notes describe the Bill as the main legislative step in the government's Plan to Make Work Pay and say it will cover the policies in that plan that require primary legislation. The Bill will extend and apply to Great Britain.

What the Bill is expected to cover

The commitments listed in the briefing notes include:

• banning exploitative zero hours contracts, with a right to a contract reflecting regular hours and reasonable notice of shift changes, with compensation for cancelled or curtailed shifts;
• ending "fire and rehire" and "fire and replace" through reformed law and effective remedies;
• making parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from day one, while allowing probationary periods;
• removing the lower earnings limit and the waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay;
• making flexible working the default from day one, as far as reasonable;
• making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work, except in specific circumstances;
• creating a single enforcement body, also called a Fair Work Agency; and
• updating trade union law, including on statutory recognition and workplace access.

Why the government says change is needed

The notes say the number of zero hours contracts has risen to over 1 million over the last decade, and argue that day one protections will encourage job switching, which is associated with higher wages and productivity growth.

What happens next

Employers will need to wait for the published Bill for the detail of each measure, including how day one protection from unfair dismissal will work alongside probationary periods. The same speech announced a Renters' Rights Bill to end no-fault evictions in the private rented sector.

Sources

• GOV.UK: The King's Speech 2024
• GOV.UK: King's Speech 2024: background briefing notes