Employment & Pensions Blog: What does the King’s Speech 2024 mean for Employment Law

Labour’s “New Deal for Working People” (New Deal) and their Manifesto outlined a series of potential reforms and commitments within the sphere of employment law. Now that we have heard the King’s speech, and having reviewed the Government’s newly released briefing note, we have gained some further insight on what the Government intends to implement, and what the employment landscape could look like in the wake of our new Labour Government. 

The introduction of an Employment Rights Bill

The King’s speech made clear that the Government is “committed to making work pay” and will “ban exploitative practices” and “enhance employment rights”. Whilst there were no new commitments made in the King’s speech, its associated briefing note confirms that the following elements will be introduced through an Employment Rights Bill, scheduled to be introduced by 12 October 2024: 

• Parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal (subject to probationary periods) will be made a day one right; 
• Restrictions around "Fire and rehire" practices will be introduced and the Government’s recently introduced Statutory Code will be replaced; 
• Flexible working will become the “default position” from day one of employment, with employers required to accommodate this unless it is not “reasonably feasible”; 
• Zero-hour contracts will be banned. Workers will have a right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work and to reasonable notice of any changes in shift, with compensation awarded for altered shifts; 
• Statutory Sick Pay will be strengthened, removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period to make it available to all workers; 
• A Single Enforcement Body or Fair Work Agency, will be established to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights; 
• Trade union legislation will be updated, removing restrictions on trade union activity, and simplifying the statutory recognition process; and
• Protections for new mothers will be increased, making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has returned to work for a period of six months following maternity leave, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Whilst the Government also committed to delivering a genuine living wage that takes into account the cost of living, and legislation to remove age bands from the minimum wage restrictions, those changes can be implemented relatively quickly outside of the Employment Rights Bill, as they do not require primary legislation to be passed. 

Other Commitments

The King’s speech also confirmed the establishment of “Skills England”, a new body which will bring together Government, training providers, businesses and unions to simplify and improve the skills system. The Government has identified the new body as “a partnership with employers at its heart”. 

Additionally, reform of the apprenticeship levy was confirmed. However, no details have been provided on what these reforms will look like in practice, other than the fact that it will be for Skills England to identify when this can be used.   

Finally, the King’s speech confirmed that the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will be published “to enshrine the full right to equal pay in law”, making it possible for ethnic minorities and disabled people to bring claims for equal pay where they have been underpaid as a result of their disability or race. This bill will also require employers with over 250 employees to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps. We do not yet know the timeframe for this draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, but employers can expect that the impact of these proposals will not be immediate. 

Comment 

As previously advised, these changes are likely to have a significant impact on employers, but as ever, the devil is in the detail and the detail still needs to be bottomed out. We are yet to see much detail on how the Employment Rights Bill will work in practice. Given that the Government has indicated that it will consult on how to implement these proposals  before legislation is passed, we consider that it may take a matter of months, if not longer, for the proposals to officially come into effect. 

In the meantime, we will keep a close watch for any updates on possible consultations on the Employment Rights Bill proposals and will report back as and when they are disclosed.

If you require any further assistance or support, please contact a member of the Employment Team.