ERB buffeted by opposition amendments during House of Lords report stage

The Government has suffered some temporary setbacks from opposition and crossbench amendments during the Employment Rights Bill’s report stage in the House of Lords, which ended on 23 July. However, they are likely to be removed from the Bill when it returns to the Commons in the autumn.

We all knew that the Government would be bringing forward significant amendments at the House of Lords report stage (see our earlier posting here). But we did not bargain for amendments from other quarters. Instead, the Government has lost several votes on what could be regarded as wrecking amendments. These include:

• Removing the provisions conferring day one unfair dismissal rights and replacing them with a reduction in the current unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months
• Qualifying the new rights for zero-hours workers so that entitlement to the offer of a guaranteed hours contract arises only if a request is made by an employee
• Reversing some of the Trade Union Act 2016 repeals, including restoring the 50% turnout threshold for industrial action ballots.

We don’t expect these – and other similar amendments – to survive when the Bill returns to the Commons. However, they are a setback for the Government and could delay the Bill’s final stages.

The Bill is due to receive its third reading in the House of Lords on 3 September. The House of Lords amendments will then be considered during “ping pong” stage – a procedure which involves the Bill shuttling between both Houses of Parliament until the final version can be agreed. Once this process is concluded, it will be ready for Royal Assent.

Most of the measures in the Bill will not take effect until the necessary secondary legislation has been put in place. See our earlier post for more details of the implementation timetable announced earlier this month, which stretches well into 2027.