Ben Wilmott, the CIPD's head of public policy, told HR magazine: “The Employment Rights Bill will bring about the biggest change to employment rights in a generation, and is set to deliver many benefits to employees.
“Given the huge scale of the reforms there needs to be an implementation plan, and supporting guidance for employers.”
Here is our round up of what HR leaders need to know about the amendments, and what it means for employers:
Zero-hours contract measures to extend to agency workers
The first amendment was to ensure that a contract is given to all employees, including up to 900,000 agency workers in the UK, which reflects the hours that they regularly work.
This aims to ensure that agency workers are included in the government’s plans to end exploitative zero-hour contracts.
Currently, zero-hours workers in the UK are legally classed as an employee or worker. They are entitled to statutory annual leave and the national minimum wage. These protections are due to be given to agency workers.
This amendment is set to offer employees increased security by giving reasonable notice of shifts and proportionate pay when shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at a short notice.
Seb Maley, CEO of tax consultancy firm, Qdos, explained that although this amendment can offer more protection, it might not work for everyone.
Maley told HR magazine: "On one hand, certain zero-hours workers want and need greater protection; these contracts don’t necessarily work in all scenarios. On the other, there’s an argument that you’ll affect the flexibility that temporary workers offer.
“It’s a situation that needs careful thought, consideration and a solution that takes into account all parties.”
Non-compliance within umbrella companies
The government also made an amendment to ensure that workers can access rights and protections when working through umbrella companies: businesses that employ temporary workers for recruitment agencies.
Action can be taken against an umbrella company if these rights and protections aren’t provided.
This amendment will have a significant impact on SMEs, according to Pavel Shynkarenko, CEO of HR software platform Mellow.
Shynkarenko told HR magazine: “According to the Federation of Small Businesses, over 60% of SMEs rely on umbrella companies to source talent and handle hiring processes. Stricter regulations will complicate these processes, making it more challenging for businesses to find and hire workers within the UK.”
He also explained that the amendment does not address the distribution in responsibilities between the umbrella companies and the businesses that use their services clearly enough.
Shynkarenko said: “The lines of accountability are blurred, which could lead to significant risks. For example, there’s a real possibility that businesses could be unfairly penalised with fines for issues that should fall under the umbrella company’s responsibility, or vice versa.”
However, Shynkarenko agreed that this amendment will improve working conditions for gig workers, who often lack stable employment.
Read more: Employment Rights Bill: HR reacts
A modern framework for industrial relations
The third amendment to the Bill aimed to update the legislative framework that trade unions use to operate in order to align it with modern work practices. The amendment is to ensure that industrial relations are underpinned by collaboration, accountability and proportionality.
Dugald Johnson, employment rights officer at performing arts and entertainment trade union, Equity, stated that this amendment will be a first step in repealing decades of anti-union legislation.
However, Johnson believed that the amendment might also bring with it some complexities. He said: “Current proposals leave intact a great mesh of anti-union measures, such as the ban on secondary action and complex balloting rules, which have no place in a modern industrial relations framework.”
Strengthened statutory sick pay
The government also aims to support all workers by making sure that statutory sick pay (SSP) is available from the first day of sickness absence, making it a legal right for workers for the first time. Currently employees are only entitled to SSP from day four.
Wilmott said: “The reforms to SSP will better support employees with health issues but further changes are needed to ensure the system is flexible to support a phased return to work."
Employees who are on a low income will also be able claim 80% of their average weekly earnings as sickness pay, or the current rate of SSP, whichever is lower.
This amendment aimed to reduce the amount of people going to work when ill, and the spread of infections in the workplace.
Kate Shoesmith, deputy chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, stated that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is doing further work to make this change effective.
She told HR magazine: “There’s work that the DWP and others are doing to work out exactly what the principles are, so that there are no unintended consequences. For example, it may encourage further absentees.”
Read more: MPs call for sick pay boost
Preventing collective redundancy abuse
The amended Bill offers further guidance for employers on consultation processes for collective redundancies, increasing the maximum period of the protected award from 90 days to 180 days.
This will mean that an employment tribunal will be able to grant larger awards to employees when an employer fails to meet consultation requirements. Employers will not be able to deliberately ignore their collective consultation obligations or benefit financially by doing so.
Bereavement leave
Under the proposed changes mothers and partners in England, Wales and Scotland, will be granted two weeks of bereavement leave if they have suffered a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks’ gestation.
A policy is already in place for parents to have a right to bereavement leave where they have lost a child or suffered a stillbirth after 24 weeks of gestation. However, this is to be extended to before 24 weeks.
Shoesmith believes that the Bill may be less important than the secondary regulations that follow.
She said: “The secondary regulations are the piece of work that really tell us how a business adapts to these changes, what are the principles and practices that they need to put in place are, and how the government will enforce against those regulations so that they know that businesses are doing the right thing.”
