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At the end of November 2024, an Amendment Paper setting out various proposed changes to the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) was published. It contains amendments proposed by the government, as well as those proposed by MPs from other parties. Further amendments may also be forthcoming in due course.
Some of the headline proposed amendments are as follows:
- A government amendment, extending the time limit for all types of employment tribunal claims from three to six months. This is a significant change and could result in more claims as claimants will have longer to bring claims. It could also result in more uncertainty as employers will have to wait for longer until they know if a claimant has commenced litigation.
- Various government amendments to the zero hours/low hours provisions on guaranteed hours, including a requirement for employers to take reasonable steps to ensure that workers are given specified information in relation to their rights to guaranteed hours during an “initial information period”.
- Amendment proposed by a Labour MP, requiring employers to include an explanation in their equality action plans on how they are supporting employees with menstrual problems and menstrual disorders.
- A government amendment allowing the Secretary of State to introduce a cap on the compensatory award for employees unfairly dismissed during the “initial period of employment”.
- Amendment put forward by a Liberal Democrat MP, to limit the “initial period of employment” to between three and nine months.
- Various amendments to family leave provisions put forward by Liberal Democrat MPs (including doubling the rate of statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental and parental bereavement pay and increasing statutory paternity leave to six weeks).
The Public Bill Committee will consider the proposed amendments and is expected to report to the House of Commons towards the end of January 2025. Whilst it’s likely that the government amendments will be passed, those changes suggested by other MPs may not be taken forward.
If you’d like to discuss how the Employment Rights Bill will impact your organisation, please do not hesitate to get in contact with Robert Forsyth.
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