23/07/2024

Introduction

The King’s Speech was handed down on 17 July 2024 when King Charles announced the Government’s legislative programme. The programme is heralded by the Government as being mission led and based upon the principles of security, fairness and opportunity for all. During the Speech the King told the Members of the House of Commons that the new Labour Government will introduce 35 new Bills into Parliament. The first one mentioned was the Employment Bill which signals the importance placed on it by the Government. Indeed, the Bill was described by the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, who later that day chaired her first Cabinet Committee on the Future of Work, as the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation.

Whilst employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland, there is undoubtedly synergy between the UK’s Government plans to prioritise growth across all regions and Northern Ireland’s Economic Vision to increase productivity, address Regional imbalance and increase the number of persons in ‘Good Jobs.’

The Briefing Notes to the King’s Speech 2024 provide some, but not all, of the detail behind the headlines. We have highlighted below some of the proposed new rights and how they compare to the current, and possible future, position in Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland there is a ongoing Public Consultation on an Employment Rights ‘Good Jobs’ Bill which closes on 30 September 2024. Some of the areas being considered in Great Britain are also up for consideration in Northern Ireland.

The proposals in Great Britain are set out below along with the position in Northern Ireland:

1. Banning Exploitative Zero-Hour Contracts

Great Britain:

The Labour Government plans to ban Exploitative Zero-Hour Contracts ensuring workers have the right to a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work and get reasonable notice of changes in shift with proportionate compensation.

Northern Ireland:

This is also being considered in the current Northern Ireland Consultation. As well as considering an outright ban, there is a proposal to replace zero hour contracts with contracts that provide flexibility and protect workers’ rights. One of the proposals being considered is using a similar model as to the Banded Hours provisions that are in place in the Republic of Ireland. Provisions are also being considered to ban exclusivity clauses (which are already unlawful in Great Britain) and introduce a mechanism for some form of compensation for late cancellation of work hours.

2. Ending ‘Fire & Rehire’ & ‘Fire & Replace’

Great Britain:

The new Statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement only came into force on 18 July 2024 and is one of the legacies of the last Conservative Government. It will be a short lived Code, as the Labour Government has committed to repealing it. They state they want to reform the law to provide more effective remedies.

Northern Ireland:

The issue of dismissal and re-engagement is also being considered as part of the Consultation with proposals ranging from: do nothing; introduce a Statutory Code of Practice; or impose a statutory ban. It will be interesting to see if the direction of travel in Great Britain influences Northern Ireland to adopt a more stringent approach.

3. Parental Leave, Sick Pay & Protection and Unfair Dismissal 

Great Britain:

The Labour Government announced their plans to make Parental Leave, Sick Pay & Protection from Unfair Dismissal Day 1 Rights.

The removal of the 2 year continuous service requirement in order to bring an unfair dismissal claim, is perhaps one of the most publicised measures and will have a real impact on workplaces. The Government has said that it will still allow dismissals during the probationary period but it is not clear how that will operate.

In terms of SSP, they intend to remove the lower earnings threshold for entitlement to SSP and also remove 3 day waiting period.

Northern Ireland:

In Northern Ireland there is a continuous service requirement of 1 year in which to bring an unfair dismissal claim; there is no proposal to change this.

Whilst SSP is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland, historically we mirror GB changes and could well adopt them here.

There are some proposals looking at Paternity Leave but not Parental Leave

4. Flexible Working

Great Britain:

On 6 April 2024, the right to request flexible working became a day 1 right in Great Britain. Two requests in a 12 month period can now also be made and parts of the statutory process have changed.

The Labour Government wants to go further; rather than a right to request, it intends to make Flexible Working the default position from day 1. The onus will therefore be on employers who will be required to accommodate a flexible working request as far as reasonable.

Northern Ireland:

The current proposal is to make flexible working a day 1 right and essentially bring Northern Ireland in line with the changes that came into effect in Great Britain on 6 April 2024.

5. Enhancing protection to women who are pregnant or have had a baby

Great Britain:

In 2024 the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023, and the Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 enhanced the protections afforded in respect of maternity, adoption and shared parental leave for 18 months following birth.

The Labour Government proposes to make it unlawful to dismiss for 6 months after return to work, except in specific circumstances.

Northern Ireland:

The current proposal is to enhance the protection and essentially bring Northern Ireland in line with the changes that came into effect in Great Britain on 6 April 2024.

6. Establishing new Single Enforcement Body, called Fair Work Agency to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights

Great Britain:

This will only apply to Great Britain; it is proposed that this will make it easier to enforce workplace rights.

Northern Ireland:

No such proposals are currently being considered.

7. Sectoral Pay Agreements

Great Britain:

The Labour Government has committed to establishing a Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector. Thereafter, following review, they plan to assess how and to what extent such agreements could benefit other sectors. This type of sectoral pay agreement is effectively a collective agreement that covers all workers in a sector of the economy, whether they wish to be a part of a union or not. It contrasts to private collective bargaining where agreements only cover individual firms.

Northern Ireland:

Sectoral type agreements are mentioned in the current Consultation in Northern Ireland but no proposals are set out. The Consultation is only asking for views on how sectoral collective bargaining could be improved.

8. Trade Union Legislation and Minimum Service Levels

Great Britain:

The Labour Government plans to remove unnecessary restrictions on trade union activity and ensure industrial relations are based around good faith negotiation and bargaining. They plan to introduce a regulated route to ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 came into force (in Great Britain only) on 20 July 2023 and have faced much controversy. The purpose of the legislation is to require trade union workers in England, Scotland and Wales to provide a minimum service during a strike in health, education services, fire and rescue, border security, transport and nuclear decommissioning. The Labour Government has confirmed that it will repeal this law.

Northern Ireland:

Northern Ireland did not introduce similar laws. Indeed in Northern Ireland, as we did not introduce counterpart laws to the GB Trade Union Act 2016, there is less restriction on trade unions.

The current Consultation also wants to further strengthen ‘voice and representation’ in the workplace by fostering strong relationships between workers, employers and government. This includes developing and modernising the framework within which trade unions operate. It proposes doing this through, for example:

• Increasing ability for unions to access workplaces
• Permitting e-balloting
• Decreasing the information and notice required before taking industrial action
• Seeking views on the adequacy of protection for employees against detriment who have took part in industrial action

In terms of the minimum service laws, no such equivalent was proposed or exists in Northern Ireland.

9. Simplifying the Process of Statutory Recognition

Great Britain:

The detail on this is lacking in the Briefing Notes. However the Labour Party Manifesto states they will introduce e-balloting and review the existing thresholds which they say place too high a hurdle in modern workplaces. They plan to remove the requirement in GB (introduced by the Trade Union Act 2016) that trade unions show that 50% of workers are likely to support their claim before the process has begun; this would be amended to only requiring a simple majority for a union to obtain recognition.

Northern Ireland:

As stated above Northern Ireland did not introduce laws similar to the Trade Union Act 2016. The Consultation notes that 65% of business in Northern Ireland fall outside of the threshold for which a union could obtain statutory recognition as they do not employ at least 21 workers. The Consultation seeks views on whether this threshold should be lowered in line with the threshold for monitoring with Equality Commission i.e. 11 or more workers working 16 hours or more per week.

10. Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill

Great Britain:

The Labour Government states that the draft Bill will tackle inequality for ethnic minority and disabled people by enshrining in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people and introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for larger employers (those with 250+ employees).

Northern Ireland:

Discrimination issues fall outside the remit of the Department of Economy which has issued the ‘Good Jobs’ Bill Consultation. In Northern Ireland, the ability to introduce gender pay reporting is contained in section 19 of the Employment Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 in tandem with the introduction of Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations.

Of note, when those Regulations are implemented in Northern Ireland (see below) they will not only require gender pay reporting but also ethnicity and disability reporting. This law and Regulations fall under the responsibility of the Department for Communities which confirmed that the way forward on how this legislation is to be enacted is currently being considered and will be announced in due course.

11. Reform GB Apprenticeship Levy

Great Britain:

The Labour Government plans to reform the apprenticeship levy.

Northern Ireland:

The system for administering the apprenticeship levy is different in Northern Ireland but there is widespread support amongst businesses for reform.

The Minister for the Economy has stated the Department is recalibrating its skills agenda. It has also been recognised that the way the apprenticeship levy currently operates in Northern Ireland is not working – larger businesses in Northern Ireland must pay an apprenticeship levy to the UK Treasury (of circa £80 million) but have no guarantee that Northern Ireland will have any direct benefit.

As the apprenticeship levy is a reserved matter, politicians are making the case that it does not work for our local organisations.

Conclusion

Certainly this is a time of significant change for employment law / HR professionals as we work through these changes in the workplace. Whilst the Labour Government plans to introduce an Employment Bill in the first 100 days (i.e. by 12 October 2024), by the time it goes through the parliamentary process, it is unlikely that any of the new laws and rights will be in force for another 12-18 months (October 2025 or April 2026.) This gives workplaces in Great Britain time to plan and prepare.

Some of proposals are similar to what is being considered in the current Northern Ireland Good Jobs Bill Consultation but undoubtedly the GB proposals go much further.

It will be very interesting to see how far the direction in Great Britain influences the way forward in Northern Ireland.