The Regulatory Parliamentary Committee has reviewed the impact assessments (“IA”) used in forming the Employment Rights Bill (the “Bill”) and deemed them largely “not fit for purpose”. The government is yet to comment.
It provided a ‘red’ or ‘green’ rating on the rationale for intervention, identification of other options and justification for preferring the chosen option. It also judged the IA against a regulatory scorecard and on monitoring and evaluation plans, from ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘weak’ or ‘very weak’.
The below IA scored ‘red’ across all three of the first categories and as ‘weak’ in the latter. Some of the concerns raised include:
• Day 1 unfair dismissal rights – failure to address why reducing the qualifying period was not preferable and how the right would impact business costs.
• Repeal of Trade Union Rights 2016 and Repeal of Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 – failure to explain how increasing trade union’s ability to strike and preventing employers to require staff to work to meet minimum service levels achieves its objectives, such as increasing real wage growth and job security.
• Restricting grounds for employers to reject flexible working requests – flexible working requests became a day 1 right in April 2024 so it’s difficult to assess the current justification. Non-regulatory options, such as campaigns to increase awareness of the right, were not considered.
• Requiring employers not to permit harassment of their employees by third parties – evidence from businesses and stakeholders on risks needs to be provided and the IA should address the costs to businesses to comply.
Only five IA were assessed to be adequate, rating as ‘green’ and at least as ‘satisfactory’:
• Day 1 paternity leave
• Increasing the protection period against dismissal for pregnant workers
• Removing ‘one establishment’ principle for collective redundancy obligations
• Mandatory staff consultation on written tipping policy
• Establishing Fair Work Agency
The Bill is currently being debated by the Parliamentary Committee and provisions are anticipated to be implemented from Autumn 2025, although this review has cast doubt on whether the reforms will receive the support required to legislate.
In the meantime, consultations on zero hours contracts, collective redundancy and fire and re-hire, and trade unions will conclude on 2 December 2024. The consultation on removing the waiting period and the minimum earning requirement for statutory sick pay closes on 4 December 2024.
