Prior to the general election in July 2024, Labour issued its ‘Make Work Pay’ plan in which it detailed an ambitious and wide-ranging set of employment law reforms which it planned to introduce if it came to power. With an election win under its belt, the new government has set this plan in motion, issuing the Employment Rights Bill within 100 days of coming to power.
To help employers navigate the road ahead, we have put together a user-friendly handbook where we look at each of the key, proposed reforms and consider what they mean for employers. We will be updating the handbook regularly over the coming months and years as the reforms begin to take effect.
You can read our handbook by clicking on the link below:
Our handbook at a glance
In this handbook, you will find information, in an easy-to-read format, about each of the key proposed reforms, including the current legal position, details of the proposed changes and our commentary on the impact for employers.
We hope our handbook will help you understand how your organisation can adapt to the new legal landscape.
Looking ahead
This Bill is the first significant step for Labour in making good on its promise to deliver ‘the biggest upgrade to rights at work in a generation’. With wide-ranging provisions which will deliver a host of new individual and collective rights as well as a more prominent role for trade unions, the Bill will have far-reaching consequences for employers when it becomes law.
Whilst the Bill is the vehicle for many of the government’s proposed reforms, it does not include all of them. The government will also be bringing forward the remaining reforms contained in its ‘Make Work Pay’ document, through other mechanisms, including through additional primary legislation, regulations, and codes of practice.
The Bill will now progress through Parliament and some of its provisions may be amended during this process. Additional (and necessary) detail to many of the reforms in the Bill will be issued as separate regulations. These regulations will be subject to consultation prior to issue. This means that, even though the Bill is expected to become law in the first half of 2025, many of the new rights will not come into force until much later.
Contact Us
If you would like to discuss any of the proposed reforms contained in the Employment Rights Bill or other anticipated changes, contact Luke Bowery or your usual Burges Salmon representative from our wider Employment team.