Proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill: Our year-end wrap up

On 10 October 2024, the Employment Rights Bill 2024-25 (ERB) was introduced to Parliament. It had its second reading on 21 October 2024 and is currently at the Committee stage. 

During the Committee stage, several proposed amendments to the ERB have been published. Many of these amendments are Government amendments, made by Justin Madders, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade). However, there are also proposed amendments made by other MPs. 

The key amendments proposed by the Government are as follows:

• Extension of the time limit to bring all types of employment tribunal claims from three to six months. 
• Power for the Secretary of State to specify the maximum amount of the compensatory award available where an employment tribunal finds that an employee has been unfairly dismissed during the new statutory probationary period. This suggests that the Government may specify a lower level of compensation if dismissal falls within the statutory probationary period.
• Power to add to the new Fair Work Agency’s remit the ability to enforce entitlement to annual leave. The current draft of the ERB includes enforcement powers regarding the right to payment in respect of periods of leave and rolled up holiday pay for part year/irregular hour workers but not enforcement of holiday entitlement.  
• Clarification that trade unions will need to have a certificate of independence to benefit from the workplace access provisions and that the right of trade unions to access workplaces will not extend to any workplace which is also a dwelling.

Other amendments proposed by the Government are mainly to tidy and provide clarification around the original drafting of the ERB. Whilst some of the amendments proposed by other MPs are interesting, including banning substitution clauses and doubling the rate of statutory family leave pay e.g. statutory maternity pay, it is unlikely that the majority of these proposals will progress. 

The Public Bill Committee is expected to report back to the House of Commons by 21 January 2025.  We will keep a close eye on the progress of any amendments to the ERB. 

If you would like to discuss any of the ERB changes in more detail, please reach out to a member of our employment team. 

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