Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The Employment Rights Bill will help end years of low-paid, insecure employment which failed our economy, businesses and working people. We welcome the Government setting out the implementation dates of this historic legislation, should it pass all parliamentary stages and receive Royal Assent.
“These new rights will help secure economic growth by improving productivity after years of stagnation. They will also help stop rogue employers undercutting those who treat their staff properly, while giving workers security, respect and the decency of an income they can live on. Millions of low-paid workers provide essential services to help ensure the country is fed, healthy and safe, but often do not get the recognition, respect or reward they deserve.
“It is shocking that Tories and Reform continue to oppose these measures at every stage; they have learnt nothing from 14 years of failure to improve workers’ rights. We will continue to engage with the Government as the Bill progresses, to make sure it delivers the much-needed change that our members and all workers need.”
The Employment Rights Bill will:
• Ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and provide a right to a regular-hours contract.
• Make Statutory Sick Pay available from day one of absence and to all workers, regardless of income.
• Require employers to protect staff from customer harassment.
• Provide day-one access to challenging an unfair dismissal.
• Make paternity, parental and bereavement leave available from day one of employment.
• Improve redundancy consultation.
• Make flexible working the default for all, unless the employer can prove it is unreasonable.
• Require employers to give reasonable notice on shift changes and cancellations.
• Give trade unions the right to access workplaces, to recruit and organise workers.
• Simplify the trade union recognition process to give workers a voice.
• Introduce statutory rights for workplace equalities representatives.
• Ban fire and rehire in all but the most extreme circumstances.
• Create a fair work agency to put enforcement of employment rights into a single body.
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
Employment Rights Bill Implementation Roadmap: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-employment-rights-bill
Employment Rights Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3737
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion