Employment Rights Bill – Proposed Amendments Update

Back in October 2024, the Government set out several employment law changes as part of their campaign to “Make Work Pay.”  

We have summarised below the key proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, which, once they are passed, will affect all employers

Statutory Sick Pay

Under new proposals, 1.3 million workers could be entitled to SSP for the first time ever.   Currently workers earning belong the lower earnings limit are not entitled to receive SSP.  Under the new proposal, staff earning below the limit (which increases to £125 per week in April) would be entitled to be paid 80% of their wage if they earn less than the SSP rate (which increases to £118.75 per week in April.)

This proposal also sees the removal of the 3 waiting days, giving everyone the right to SSP from the first day of sickness absence. 

Fire and Re-hire Compensation

Compensation for not following the correct procedures in a collective redundancy consultation process (when making 20 or more employees redundant), or in a fire and re-hire situation is proposed to increase from 90 days to 180 days’ pay!

Annual Leave Records

The Government is also proposing that employers should have extra responsibility for record keeping proving that you’re following the rules for annual leave entitlement, which form part of the Working Time Regulations.  All staff are currently entitled to a minimum of 5.6 working weeks’ paid time off (unless you have staff working variable hours, in which case you can now pay rolled up holiday pay which is a 12.07% uplift for each hour paid as it is worked, and then annual leave is unpaid at the point it is taken.)

Zero-hour Contracts

In a bid to stop exploitative working practices, the proposal is that staff should have a right to notice if their shifts are cancelled and the right to a contract that guarantees hours if they are working regular hours in practice.  The proposal is also looking to extend this right to agency workers. 

Tribunal Claims

There is a new proposal for the Secretary of State to be able to bring tribunal proceedings on behalf of workers.  This would allow the Government to start a claim for a worker who has a claim but is reluctant to raise it themselves.  The Government would also be able to provide legal assistance or representation for the claimant. 

TOP TIPS

To prepare for these changes, our advice is to make sure you have a robust absence management system and are keeping accurate records of sickness absence and annual leave.  Always take advice on the statutory process for consultation when making staff redundant to avoid the risk of having to make a compensation payment of up to 180 days’ pay!   Once the proposals have been passed, we also recommend reviewing any zero-hour contracts to make sure they are still appropriate and fair. If you would like to discuss any of these topics in more detail, please contact us

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