Government clarifies next steps for Employment Rights Bill

With the Employment Rights Bill likely to become an Act of Parliament towards the end of next month, attention is turning to what happens next. While the Government has not yet committed to a detailed implementation timetable, some clues have emerged in its response to a report from the Business and Trade Committee, published on 22 May.

What won’t make it into the Bill

The Government has rejected calls to include more specific provisions in the Bill to define the new rules for zero hours contracts. It has explained that it is important to retain a degree of flexibility. That means that important elements such as the minimum notice period for shifts and the minimum fixed hours required to take a contract outside the new regime will be defined in secondary legislation.

The Government has also been asked to take urgent action to reform the rules on employment status, to avoid abuses in the labour market. Its response explains that it sees consulting on a simpler employment status framework as a “longer-term goal”. It adds that it will “take time to adequately develop and consult on such a far-reaching change to employment law”.

Consultation and engagement

The Committee has called upon the Government to consider how they “use networks of employment support, both statutory and voluntary” to help employers understand and implement the new employment rights in the Bill.

The Government’s response repeats previous assurances about consultation and confirms that it will ensure that “sufficient time and support is provided to adapt to changes ahead of their commencement.” It also recognises that successful implementation “will require close collaboration with a wide range of partners across sectors.”

Implementation

We already know that many of the provisions in the Bill on industrial action (including changes to the balloting rules) will come into effect two months after the Bill receives Royal Assent (which we are expecting by the end of July).

However, the vast majority of the measures in the Bill will require either regulations or a commencement order before they take effect. The Government has previously stated that the new measures on unfair dismissal rights won’t be brought until effect before the autumn of 2026.

When responding to the Committee’s request for information about the implementation of the new rights for zero hours workers, the Government has promised to “ensure there is sufficient time ahead of the commencement of the regulations for businesses and workers to familiarise themselves with the new rights”. Given that these measures are particularly complex and extensive, it seems likely that the implementation timetable will be broadly in step with the one the Government has already indicated for changes to the law on unfair dismissal.

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