Employment Rights Bill

In it’s recent visit to the House of Lords, further amendments have been proposed for the House of Commons to consider. Of particular note is the insistence by the Lords to require a six month qualifying period for unfair dismissal, a right for zero hours workers to opt out of receiving contract offers and notices for guaranteed hours, and the inclusion of a definition of seasonal work.

Unfair dismissal:

The Commons had previously rejected the Lords amendment which required an employee to have a six-month qualifying period before they obtained ordinary unfair dismissal rights and suggested that the ERB ought to give employees the rights to an unfair dismissal claim from day one of their employment. Lord Sharpe of Epsom has reinstated the amendment for the six month qualifying period on 28 October and this was put to a vote with the Lords. The Lords voted in favour of this amendment by 301 votes to 153.

Guaranteed hours contracts:

The Lords originally passed an amendment which would have resulted in a change of duty for employers to offer guaranteed hours contracts instead becoming a right for workers to request a guaranteed hours contract once they had worked for a set period of time. . This amendment was rejected by the Commons.

Lord Fox proposed an amendment in lieu on the 28 October 2025. This amendment in lieu was that at the end of each reference period an employer must send a written notice to a worker explaining that they have the right to receive a guaranteed hours contract and offer them the opportunity to decline. This amendment would allow workers to request that their employer stop sending them further notices or offers of guaranteed hours contracts after the initial reference period and offer of a guaranteed hours contract. The employer would be required to comply with this request from the worker unless the worker ultimately decided to opt back in to receiving these notices. The Lords voted in favour with 302 votes to 159.

Definition of seasonal work:

Lord Sharpe of Epsom  also proposed an amendment in lieu with regards to a definition of ‘seasonal work’ being included in the ERB. This amendment is similar to the original proposed definition, however it has been slightly expanded. Lord Sharpe of Epsom has proposed that ‘seasonal work’ is defined as follows:

1. In making regulations under Part 1 of this Act, the Secretary of State must have regard to the specific characteristics and requirements of seasonal work as defined in subsection (2).

2. “Seasonal work” means work that—

(a)    is performed during a particular period or periods of the year,

(b)    recurs substantially in the same periods each year,

(c)     is directly linked to a predictable and temporary increase in demand for labour during those periods,

(d)    is carried out in one or more of the following sectors—

i. agriculture and horticulture,

ii. the creative industries, including theatre and live performance,

iii. retail

iv. hospitality,

v. tourism, leisure and events, and

vi. construction and landscaping, and

(e)  is entered into for a fixed duration not exceeding 26 weeks to meet the temporary demand.

3. The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument add further sectors to the list in subsection (2)(d), provided that work in those sectors meets the criteria outlined in subsection (2)(a) to (2)(c).

4. Regulations under subsection (3) are subject to the affirmative procedure.

The Lords voted in favour of this amendment with 267 votes to 153.

 School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB):

The SSSNB was abolished in 2010 but proposals have been put forward for this to be reintroduced. There is currently no statutory, national pay body for school support staff who make up around half of the school workforce. The ERB will define school support staff and provide that negotiating body have a remit that covers their remuneration, terms and conditions of employment and promote training and career progression. There have been amendments made to the SSSNB provisions contained in the ERB which have been agreed by the House of Lords, these being that the ratification of an agreement:

• Cannot alter the existing terms and conditions of employment  of school support staff to their detriment.

• Cannot prevent the terms and conditions of employment of school support staff from including a term or condition that is more favourable to the person than that which would otherwise have effect by virtue of the ratification.

The Lords had however, also  proposed an amendment which has been rejected by the Commons. This amendment provided that the SSSNB must not restrict employers from introducing innovative or improved terms and conditions of employment beyond the national framework provided that those terms meet or exceed the minimum standards set by the SSSNB.

The SSSNB will apply to all state-funded schools in England. The reintroduction of the SSSNB could potentially lead to disparity that may emerge between the terms and conditions of support staff in England and those in Wales and therefore it is unclear if this will be amended in the future.

Conclusion

It will be interesting to see how long  the “ping pong” between the House of Lords and the House of Commons lasts.  It had been anticipated that the ERB would have received Royal Assent when Parliament returned from it’s summer recess, so we are still in a state of uncertainty as to when this Bill will become law. The ERB roadmap which can be found here (Implementing the Employment Rights Bill - Our roadmap for delivering change   ) sets out the proposed timetable for when the various provisions will come into effect. This may need now to be altered to reflect this delay, causing more uncertainty for organisations.

The ERB will raise  a number of queries and interesting points for both employers and employees and should you require advice or guidance on this then we are happy to assist.