Employment Rights Bill (ERB): the ping pong phase

Last month, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) entered a ‘ping pong’ phase, in which MPs considered and voted on amendments made to the bill in the House of Lords. 

The CIPD reported that some of the most significant amendments that have been successfully made by the opposition – the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats – include changes to headline policies such as day-one rights and zero-hour contracts.

Next steps for the Employment Rights Bill

Parliament has now returned, and the ERB will go back to the House of Lords on 28 October and will continue to go back and forth until an agreement can be reached.

Some are speculating that the bill will once again be sent back with proposed amendments, resulting in delays.

Due to the expected back and forth, it’s predicted that the bill’s Royal Assent will come later than planned.

However, Labour has signalled that it ‘won’t back down’ and it’s unlikely they’ll accept the proposed changes, according to experts.

“Labour has made their mandate clear, we know they will push ERB to become law aggressively, and while government bureaucracy may slow the process, we don’t expect this to go away. Employers need to prepare now,” says Peyton Inglis, HR Consultant at IRIS HR Consulting.

Incoming changes

There has been discussion that areas of the ERB which aren’t being contested may still come into play from the end of October.

As such, changes around bereavement leave and fire & rehire, as well as others in the roadmap, may continue as planned.

Once the Employment Rights Bill receives Royal Assent, the implementation set out in the Government’s roadmap can begin.

When will the Employment Rights Bill come into play?

There’s no concrete answer as to when the ERB will come into play – expect parts of the bill to go live at different times.

The Government’s roadmap remains the best place for guidance.

However, if delays continue during the consultation, the Government will be facing some extremely tight deadlines, which could impact the implementation.

Suggestions for businesses

Despite uncertainty persisting, businesses must review their policies to maintain compliance as the ERB progresses.

Keep an eye out for new guidance and announcements to understand what measures are coming and their impact.

As always, we’ll be sure to report the latest changes!