Employment Rights Bill: is even more change on the way?

The Employment Rights Bill was published in October. Since then, the government has published some early consultations, impact assessments and other information about the Bill. Most recently a number of amendments have been tabled which will be considered as it progresses through parliament.  

What amendments have been proposed?

The amendment paper, released on 28 November 2024, contains 59 pages of proposed amendments to the Bill. 

One of the key amendments is a new provision which extends the time limits for employment-related claims to six months. You can read our thoughts on this here.

This blog summarises some of the other proposals that have caught our eye. 

Doubling statutory rates for family related leave

The Liberal Democrats want to double the current statutory rate of pay for family related leave from £184.03 to £368.06 per week. 

This proposal comes just after the government has announced the new rates in force next year. From 6 April 2025, the rate of Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay will increase from £184.03 to £187.18 a week. 

This 1.7% increase clearly falls a long way short of the increase proposed in this amendment.  

Whilst employers can recoup 92% of these statutory payments from the government, or 103% if they qualify for Small Employers’ Relief, the key point here is that it works as a reimbursement. Increases to the rate will, therefore, impact employers and their finances because they will need to have the funds available to pay it out to employees in the first place. 

Some other Liberal Democrat suggestions

There are some other proposed amendments to the Bill made by Liberal Democrats including:  

• Adding a new clause that would invalidate any non-disclosure agreement which prevents a worker from making a disclosure about harassment, including sexual harassment. 
• Requiring companies with more than 250 employees to publish information about their parental leave and pay policies. 
• Introducing a new entitlement to kinship care leave (kinship refers to an arrangement where a child is raised by friend, relative or other extended family member rather than a parent). 
• Increasing paternity leave from two weeks to six weeks. 

Labour proposals

Labour MPs have also suggested some changes to the Bill. A couple that are particularly worth flagging are:

• A proposed amendment that would enable 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 their initial period of employment. This suggests that the government is considering lowering the maximum amount of compensation an employee will receive if they are unfairly dismissed during their probationary period. Currently, the maximum award is the lower of either 12 months gross salary or £115,115.
• A proposal to add menstrual problems and menstrual disorders to ‘matters related to gender equality’, in relation to any regulations made by the Bill to require employers to produce equality action plans. 

What happens next? 

The above proposals would mean even more change for employers. But it’s important to keep in mind that some are unlikely to progress. The proposals put forward by the Liberal Democrats, in particular, may not make it any further given that they do not have a majority in parliament and will need the backing of the Labour Party to succeed. The Labour Party's manifesto pledge to make work pay doesn't reference the changes  the Lib Dems are looking for. 

These amendments will be considered by the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Bill. It is due to report back to the House of Commons in January 2025.  

There is a long way to go, therefore, before we get anywhere near the Bill actually becoming law, and if the last few months are anything to go by there will be some twists and turns along the way. 

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