25th September 2024
In July, the King’s Speech outlined Labour’s legislation plans for their early months in government. Two notable employment bills were announced.
© House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris
The Prime Minister’s accompanying briefing note gave additional details, reinforcing Labour’s commitment to fully implement their ‘New Deal for Working People.’
The briefing note sets out that the Employment Rights Bill should cover the following:
In addition, a draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill was introduced to “enshrine the full right to equal pay law” for both ethnic minorities and disabled people. It also proposes mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting (for employers with 250+ employees).
The King’s Speech also referred to reforming the apprenticeship levy, and this may be through relaxing the rules in relation to the levy, so that fifty per cent of it could be used to train existing staff.
Notably, some of the election pledges do not require primary legislation to take effect. For example, the pledge to provide a genuine living wage for working people as the first step has already been taken, with the Government altering the Low Pay Commission’s remit at the end of July. There is now a requirement to factor in the cost of living when recommending minimum wage rates.
We now look forward to seeing the draft legislation itself!
If you have any questions or concerns about how these proposals could impact your business, please get in touch with our Employment Team on 01635 896336 or hello@fentonelliott.co.uk
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