Employment Rights Bill - the verdict

What’s happening?

Following their commitment to deliver new rights at work within their first 100 days, Labour’s new government have introduced the Employment Rights Bill, which will cover England, Scotland and Wales.

Taken together, the Bill represents a clear break from recent governments’ stripping of employment protections, and has been broadly welcomed by the trade union movement.

Among the Bill’s provisions are:

• The revocation of the previous government’s minimum services legislation, which would have seriously impinged healthcare workers’ right to strike.  The verdict: The repeal of this anti-union legislation is a key victory for all unions – but also patients.  The legislation would have worsened industrial relations, potentially harming patient care along the way.
• A requirement for employers to set out their plans on eliminating gender pay gaps, and how they will support women through the menopause.  In parallel, stronger protections from dismissal will be made for those on and returning from maternity leave.  The verdict: The CSP has been vocal about these issues.  Pay gap reporting alone has proved insufficient to close a persistent pay gap in healthcare, and requiring employers to lay out their proactive plans is a clear next step.

Not all the government’s stated intentions are covered by the Bill.  An accompanying ‘Next Steps’ document outlines further commitments included in their ‘Make Work Pay’ agenda: all subject to additional consultations. This includes:

• The mandating of ethnic and disability pay gap reporting 
• Introducing a ‘right to switch off’, limiting employees being contacted out of hours
• Making moves towards a ‘single status’ of worker, eliminating the current framework where many employment rights are only made available to ‘employees’
• Reviewing parental leave and carers leave systems – potentially improving fathers' and partners’ access to paid leave.

We must now make our voices heard

The legislation is likely to take several months to pass through the Houses of Commons and Lords before it becomes law.    

Some of the changes – such as the creation of a single enforcement agency to enforce rights such as holiday pay, and support employers looking for guidance - will take one to two years: as they will require secondary legislation and revised or new codes of practices, which will require further consultations.  

Consultation provides an opportunity for societal stakeholders to ensure the fine details of the Bill are fit for purpose.  But of course, this leaves the door open for a ‘watering down’ of proposals, if unscrupulous employers manage to talk over the concerns of workers. 

The CSP will advocate for our members throughout – and will be making frequent appeals for your testimony.  Tells us your stories, and we’ll make sure they are heard! 

Is your workplace ready?

Many of the aspirations of the Bill – such as making flexible working the default – have already been rolled out contractually in the NHS.   

However, the experiences of our public sector workforce tell us that these only provide a foundation for improved working conditions.  To have a real impact, employers have had to work closely in partnership with trade unions to create a workplace culture where flexible working is widely available and the benefits fully understood. 

Our verdict:

Read our initial take from CSP director of Employment Relations and Union Services, Claire Sullivan:

We warmly welcome the publication of the Employment Rights Bill as a tangible step towards rebalancing work so that physios and physio support workers are treated more fairly wherever they work.

The new bill should help physios and support workers by:

• Making it harder for employers to unfairly sack people
• Make it easier to request flexible working 
• Give bank workers have more certainty about contracted hours 
• Make it easier for the CSP to talk to people working outside the NHS.   

There are politicians outside the government who are demanding that we row back on the basic rights people already have, such as maternity pay.  So, it is very encouraging that the new government is prioritising improving life for people at work.'