Flexible working and paternity leave: What you need to know about the Government’s new Employment Rights Bill

There are 28 separate changes in the Employment Rights Bill

Workers on zero-hours contracts will also be entitled to a reasonable number of shifts and financial compensation if a shift is cancelled or cut short

The Government will today announce details of new rights for workers.

Ministers described the Employment Rights Bill as the biggest boost to pay and productivity in the workplace in a generation.

The new rules include plans to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and “unscrupulous” fire and rehire practices which it said will benefit millions of workers.

Unions warmly welcomed the measures as a “seismic shift” from the low pay, low productivity economy they accused the previous Conservative government of presiding over.

There are 28 separate changes in the Bill, with most of them not expected to be implemented before the autumn of 2026.

Some measures, such as the right to “switch off” at the end of a working day, are not in the Bill but will be included in a so-called Next Steps document for further consideration and consultation.

The government said its Employment Rights Bill is being unveiled against a backdrop of it inheriting a “battered” economy from the Conservatives, who ministers accused of presiding over “strike Britain”.

More than twice as many days were lost to industrial action than France under Rishi Sunak’s premiership, said Labour, following more than two years of strikes by hundreds of thousands of workers including nurses, teachers, junior doctors, train drivers and barristers.

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union general secretary Mick Lynch leaves the Department for Transport in Westminster (Lucy North/PA Wire)

Labour said new analysis showed that the Tories’ “scorched-earth” approach to strikes over the last two years cost the economy £3.3 billion in lost productivity, including £1.7 billion from NHS industrial action alone.

What you need to know about the Employment Rights Bill

Under the Bill, the existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal will be removed and workers will have the right from the first day in a job.

Ministers say this will benefit nine million workers who have been with their employer for less than two years.

There will be consultations on a new statutory period, with ministers promising employers a “lighter touch” process covering dismissals.

The Bill also spells out day one rights for paternity, parental and bereavement leave for millions of workers, while statutory sick pay will be paid from the first day of a worker being sick rather than having to wait until the fourth day.

Around 30,000 fathers or partners will be eligible for paternity leave, while an extra 1.5 million parents will have the right to unpaid leave from day one.

Flexible working will be made the default position “where practical”, while large employers will be required to create action plans on addressing any gender pay gaps.

On the controversial issue of zero-hours contracts, employers will have to offer a guaranteed hours contract based on a 12-week reference period.

Workers on zero-hours contracts will also be entitled to a reasonable number of shifts and financial compensation if a shift is cancelled or cut short.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (PA Wire)

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “This Labour Government’s plan to make work pay is central to achieving our growth mission, boosting productivity.

“After years of stagnation under the Tories, we’re replacing a race to the bottom with a race to the top, so employers compete on innovation and quality.

“It’s by making work more secure and modernising workplaces that we will drive up productivity, improve living standards, generate jobs and investment, and pave the way for sustained economic growth that benefits working people.

“We’re calling a time on the Tories’ scorched earth approach to industrial relations. A new partnership of co-operation between trade unions, employers and government will put us in line with high-growth economies that benefit from more co-operation and less disruption.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “Our plan will give the world of work a much-needed upgrade, boosting pay and productivity.

“The best employers know that employees are more productive when they are happy at work. That is why it’s vital to give employers the flexibility they need to grow whilst ending unscrupulous and unfair practices.

“This upgrade to our laws will ensure they are fit for modern life, raise living standards and provide opportunity and security for businesses, workers and communities across the country.”

. The government said its Employment Rights Bill is being unveiled against a backdrop of it inheriting a 'battered’ economy (Lucy North/PA Wire)

Gary Smith, GMB general secretary, said: “This is a significant and groundbreaking first step to giving workers the rights they’ve been denied for so long.

“Fourteen years of Conservative rule has seen squeezed pay packets and attacks on working people and their unions; this Bill is hugely welcome.”

Mr Smith welcomed other measures including fair pay agreements for carers, reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body and repealing “anti-union” legislation.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “This is the most significant set of reforms in workers’ rights that we’ve seen in decades and is a far cry from the Tory government’s attempts to suppress the aspirations of working people.”