The Employment Rights Bill was published on the 10 October 2024 and is the most significant and far reaching reform to employment law in the UK for over 50 years. The flagship proposals follow promises made by the Government whilst in opposition to 'make work pay'.
The short answer is no! Whilst the proposed changes are far reaching there will be a period of consultation on new regulations that have to be drafted before the changes come into force. The Government has said that the new laws are likely to come into force in Autumn 2026 so you have two years to prepare for these changes.
Employees will have the right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal from the first day of employment and will no longer have to wait to be employed for two years before bringing a claim.
There will be an exception to this right in the initial period of employment, or what we would commonly refer to as a probationary period. In the probationary period the employer will need to carry out a 'proportionate assessment of the employees suitability for a role' At the time of writing, it is estimated that the probationary period will be between 6 and 9 months.
The Government plans to consult extensively on this proposal but as a minimum it has said that employers will need to meet with employees to explain the performance issues before deciding to dismiss. Whilst this will be a lighter touch than the usual unfair dismissal you will need to be able to show good objective evidence of the employee's unsuitability for the role, provide appropriate training and opportunities to improve.
This probationary period will relate to the employee's suitability for the role and will not therefore apply to redundancy dismissals where full unfair dismissal rights will apply from day one.
Although the law will not come into force for two years you will need to start preparing as any new employees who start employment in the next couple of years will not have to wait the full two years to bring a claim if the new legislation comes into force in 2026 as planned. A new employee starting in Autumn 2025 will only need a years' service as the new law would start in Autumn 2026.
Statutory Sick pay, parental and other leave
Employees will be able to claim statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness absence and the earnings threshold is removed.
The qualifying periods for paternity and parental leave will be removed giving employees these rights from day one. Employees will also be able to take paternity leave after shared parental leave.
In addition to bereavement leave of two weeks for the loss of a child the bill extends this to other individuals. The leave for other relatives will be for a shorter period of one week and the regulations, which are to follow, will determine which relatives the leave will apply to. If there is more than one bereavement in the year the employee will be entitled to leave on each occasion.
There will be a presumption in favour of flexible working and the Bill makes it harder to refuse these. This is already a day one right but where an employer refuses a flexible working request on one or more of the specified grounds, they will now have to show that the refusal is reasonable.
The new law on sexual harassment is coming into force on the 26th October 2024 and employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The Bill changes proposes to change this law and make it stronger. Employers will have to show that they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.
The Bill also makes it clear that the employers will be responsible for third party sexual harassment, see below.
There is a significant change to the law on harassment. The Bill says that employers will be held responsible for harassment of their employees by third parties (related to any protected characteristic) where they haven't taken all reasonable steps to prevent it. What will amount to all reasonable steps where third parties, such as patients, are concerned remains to be seen.
The Government will start consultations in the coming months on their new proposals and we will get a clearer picture on the practical implications of these changes to businesses. There is time to prepare as the changes won't be in force until 2026.