24 March 2025
Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has updated the Employment Rights Bill overview documents to include some common questions around the bill and its implementation.
The additions are as below:
Common questions
When will businesses be required to make these changes?
• As is typical for employment legislation, further detail on many policies in the Bill will be provided through regulations, and in some cases codes of practice, after Royal Assent.
• We expect to begin consulting on the majority of these reforms this year, seeking significant input from stakeholders.
• Adjusting to these new reforms will take time and we are committed to ensuring all stakeholders receive appropriate time to prepare for these changes.
• We expect that most reforms in the Bill will take effect no earlier than 2026. Where more time is needed for businesses to prepare for change, this will be taken into consideration. We will also publish guidance where this is appropriate.
How have stakeholders been engaged in the development of policy?
• The Government is undertaking an extensive programme of engagement around the Employment Rights Bill and broader Plan to Make Work Pay. This has been underpinned by a strong commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure policy is firmly pro-business and pro-worker. The engagement approach has received praise from business and trade unions alike. It will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.
• Following introduction of the Bill, the Government ran four consultations: applying zero hours contracts measures to agency workers; strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire; creating a modern framework for industrial relations; and strengthening Statutory Sick Pay. Responses to these initial conversations can be found online at www.gov.uk/government/collections/make-work-pay.
What role do delegated powers play in the Bill?
• The Bill contains a number of delegated powers. Given the large size of the Bill and the breadth of its subject matter, as well as the existing precedents for use of delegated powers in employment law, the Department believes these are necessary and justified. They will enable the Government to remain responsive to the changing needs of the modern labour market and economy, and to ensure the employment rights framework remains relevant to these needs.
Where can I find Impact Assessments?
• Impact Assessments across the Bill and individual measures are available online at www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
• These are based on the best available evidence and consultation with external experts and stakeholders, including academics and thinktanks.
• Our Impact Assessments provide an initial, indicative assessment of the impacts that could result from primary legislation. The £5bn figure from our Impact Assessment is a top-end estimate of the costs - which will largely represent a direct transfer to the lowest paid in society - with the bottom end of the range close to £1bn. The costs therefore are likely to be under 0.4% of our national wage Bill and could even be as low as 0.1%. Improving worker wellbeing, increasing productivity, reducing workplace conflict and creating a more level playing field for good employers would grant significant benefits worth billions of pounds per year.
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