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Trade unions declared victory on Tuesday as Labour bolstered a string of measures in its workers’ rights bill, amid criticism of the government from business groups saying there had been no “meaningful change” despite engagement.
Union sources said they were delighted that there had been no watering down of any key measures in the employment rights bill, which will face its final vote in the Commons next week, after wrangling between ministers, unions and businesses.
Despite intensive lobbying, ministers have held firm on plans for day-one rights for 9 million people against unfair dismissal, previously only possible after two years employment. The bill will give more than 1 million low-paid workers on zero hours the right to a new contract, and an extra 30,000 parents will gain new rights to paternity leave.
Few concessions to business have been made in the bill after five consultations with employers and trade unions – though the government confirmed it was not proceeding with any legal guarantees on the right to switch off, which had not been in the original bill.
Instead, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has added a slew of extra protections in the latest version of the bill, including extending a ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts to agency workers, guaranteeing sick pay to 1 million of the lowest paid workers and bolstering enforcement powers against rogue employers.
One union source said the trade unions had “got almost everything we asked for”.
Unite, whose leadership have been deeply critical of Keir Starmer and have previously accused the government of watering down the bill, said the government had “listened and acted” to improve the bill in favour of workers.
The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “For decades workers’ rights have been pushed down the agenda. This is the first time in a generation that workers’ rights have been taken seriously.”
The Unison general secretary, Christina McAnea, said there were huge improvements that had been made to the bill, saying it was “what working people and decent employers have been waiting for”.
Other amendments tabled by the government include the penalty for abuse of “fire-and-rehire” practices which ministers hope will prevent another P&O Ferries-style scandal.
Another amendment will ban employers from flooding the bargaining unit, which can unfairly influence the recognition ballot process. The trade union GMB had argued that when it made its first application with Amazon, only 1,400 people were working at the warehouse but the union claimed the fulfilment centre then added another 1,400 workers on temporary contracts, making it more difficult to reach 50% target needed for statutory union recognition.
The TUC’s general secretary, Paul Nowak, said that change was particularly welcome. “Corporate bullyboys like Amazon throw everything at trying to stop workers from having an independent voice at work,” he said. “This bill will help to stop this sort of egregious tactics.”
The CBI’s Rain Newton-Smith said there was a frustration among businesses that the government’s promise to listen to business concerns about the bill had not led to any material difference. “Businesses will remain deeply concerned that this willingness to engage has not translated into meaningful change on several key areas where the legislation locks in an irreversible direction of travel,” she said.
Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the government had “missed an opportunity today to intervene and help businesses cope”.
Business groups won two major concessions in October when the bill was first published – a statutory probation period of up to nine months to allow “lighter touch” dismissals and an allowance for zero-hours contracts to continue where employees requested them.
Announcing the changes, Reynolds said most businesses had nothing to fear from the changes. “Many businesses already have worker-friendly practices in place and can attest to the positive impact they have on retention, productivity and job satisfaction,” he said.
Most of the bill applies to England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland where employment law is devolved. However, some clauses have different territorial extent.
