Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing renewed calls to abandon Labour’s flagship Employment Rights Bill as it returns to Parliament for debate, with opponents saying the legislation could cost businesses about £5 billion a year and worsen industrial unrest.
The Bill, promoted by then-deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner before her resignation earlier this month over an underpaid stamp duty matter, includes a package of pro-union measures and new employee entitlements. Critics have focused on provisions that would give staff certain rights from day one of employment, introduce a statutory "right to switch off" and, they say, make it easier to call and sustain strikes.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith urged the prime minister to "reduce the huge burdens" the legislation would place on business and to water down measures that, he said, would "make it even easier to strike." Griffith warned that strikes could become more frequent and predicted wider disruption if the Bill remains unchanged.
Charities and organisations that work on rehabilitation and employment for ex-offenders have also voiced concern. Several said that "day-one" entitlements, including immediate sick leave, could disincentivise employers from taking on so-called riskier hires such as people with criminal convictions.
The government’s own impact analysis, cited by critics, acknowledges that firms may "take on fewer 'riskier hires', for example ex-offenders." Beverley Brooks, founder of the Recruitment Junction, which helps former prisoners find work, said the proposals would "disincentivise employers from hiring people with convictions." That runs, she and others said, counter to initiatives by ministers who have promoted employment as a route to rehabilitation.
Justice minister Lord Timpson has spoken publicly about his efforts to employ people with convictions through his shoe-repair business and has said it has provided work for more than 500 former offenders. Supporters of the Bill argue that strengthened employment rights can improve workplace security and boost labour standards, while critics contend costs and new obligations could reduce hiring, particularly for roles seen as higher risk.
Labour sources say the government will press ahead with the legislation despite the controversy, and ministers have framed the Bill as delivering long-promised workers’ rights reforms. Opponents, including some business groups, trade unions’ critics and parts of the charitable sector, are seeking changes ahead of parliamentary debate.
With the Bill back on the parliamentary agenda, the debate is likely to centre on the economic impact of the measures, the balance between protections for employees and burdens on employers, and whether safeguards can be written in to address concerns about the employment prospects of ex-offenders. The government’s next steps and any proposed amendments will be closely watched by businesses, charities and unions ahead of further committee and chamber stages.