Clifford Chance

Employment Rights' Bill

11 October 2024

The much-anticipated Employment Rights Bill (the Bill) has now been published. The substantive nature of, and the timeframe for, implementation of the Government's employment law reforms are now a little clearer. Published alongside the Bill is a ‘Next Steps to Make Work Pay’ paper outlining the Government’s plans in relation to future reforms including: the 'Right to Switch Off', mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers, a single employment status of 'worker' and a review of the parental leave and carers' leave regimes. Much of the detail of the reforms will be set out in secondary legislation, and, in some cases prior consultation will also be carried out. The Government is taking a phased approach to its reforms. The majority of the reforms will not take effect earlier than 2026 with the unfair dismissal reforms unlikely to come into effect before autumn 2026.

This briefing examines some of the key employment law reforms featured in the Bill and the Next Steps paper, the implications for employers and the applicable timeframe.

Download PDF