Thank you for contacting me about the Employment Rights Bill.
Our economy is blighted by insecure work, low pay and poor productivity. Recent analysis by the Trade Union Congress showed that 16 years on from the global financial crisis, wages are set to be lower – in real terms – in 212 out of 340 UK local authorities in 2024. And in every UK local authority, real wages are far below where they would be if they had grown at the pre-2008 growth rate.
I therefore welcome that this Bill will deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation and make work pay. It will end exploitative zero-hours contracts by introducing rights to reasonable notice of shifts and to be offered a contract with guaranteed hours, reflecting hours regularly worked. It will establish day one rights for paternity, parental and bereavement leave for millions of workers. And it will strengthen statutory sick pay by making employees eligible from the first day of illness or injury and removing the lower earnings limit test.
A particular aspect of the Bill that I am excited by and proud of is the end to fire and rehire. The Bill will make it automatically unfair to dismiss workers because they refuse to agree to a variation of contract. You may be aware that I campaigned for the end to fire and rehire and introduced a Private Members Bill in this effect. This Bill was unfortunately blocked by the Conservative Government at the time. I am incredibly happy that a Labour government will now bring the change that will protect millions of workers from predatory employment practices. You can find out more about my campaign to end fire and rehire here: https://stopfireandrehire.org/
The Bill will also require employers to justify the refusal of flexible working requests, expand employers’ duties to prevent harassment of staff and give employees protection from unfair dismissal from day one, subject to a potential probationary period. It also repeals the anti-union legislation put in place by the previous Government and strengthens the voice of working people by making it easier for trade unions to get recognised, giving them the right of access to workplaces and making sure they have enough time to represent their members.
In addition, the Bill will establish a fair pay agreements process in the adult social care sector and re-instate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body to improve terms and conditions for school support staff.
I believe this Bill will benefit not only working people but also employers, by helping to keep people in work and levelling the playing field on enforcement. I welcome that the new Government is calling time on the previous administration’s scorched earth approach to industrial relations, which led to the worst strikes chaos in decades. A new partnership between trade unions, employers and government will ensure we benefit from more cooperation and less disruption, as we raise the floor on workplace rights to deliver a stronger, fairer and brighter future for workers in the UK.
Thank you once again for contacting me about this important issue.
Kind regards,
Barry Gardiner
MP for Brent West