Government Waters Down Workers' Rights Legislation
Ministers have made a significant U-turn by abandoning plans to provide workers with day-one protection against unfair dismissal. This move is designed to ensure the Government's flagship Employment Rights Bill can successfully pass through Parliament and receive royal assent.
The Department for Business and Trade confirmed on Thursday that instead of immediate protection, employees will now need to accumulate six months of service before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim against their employer. This represents a substantial watering down of the original proposal, which directly contradicts Labour's election manifesto commitment.
Reduced Qualifying Period and Legislative Stand-off
The new six-month qualifying period marks a significant reduction from the current requirement of 24 months, though falls short of the promised day-one protection. The legislation had become caught in a parliamentary stand-off between the House of Lords and MPs, primarily over the government's plan to grant immediate unfair dismissal protection and measures to ban what it termed "exploitative" zero hours contracts.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Department for Business and Trade explained: "The Government convened a series of constructive conversations between trade unions and business representatives. On the basis of the outcome of these discussions, the Government will now move forward on the issue of unfair dismissal protections in the Employment Rights Bill to ensure it can reach royal assent."
The department further clarified that the compromise package maintains existing day-one protections against discrimination and automatically unfair grounds for dismissal, while establishing the six-month threshold for standard unfair dismissal claims.
Reactions and Next Steps
The government has defended the amended legislation, insisting it will "benefit millions of working people who will gain new rights and offer business and employers much-needed clarity." Additional commitments include ensuring that the unfair dismissal qualifying period can only be changed through primary legislation and lifting the compensation cap.
Paul Nowak, TUC General Secretary, emphasised that the "absolute priority" was getting the legislation onto the statute books. He stated: "The Employment Rights Bill is essential to better quality, more secure jobs for millions of workers across the economy. The absolute priority now is to get these rights – like day-one sick pay – on the statute book so that working people can start benefiting from them from next April."
Nowak urged peers to respect Labour's manifesto mandate and ensure the Bill secures royal assent as quickly as possible, highlighting that despite the compromise on unfair dismissal, other significant worker protections remain in the legislation.
