Employment Rights Bill remains in ‘ping pong’ as all Lords amendments are rejected in the Commons

Earlier this week (Wednesday 5th), the Employment Rights Bill returned to the Commons, where MPs voted on a further set of amendments from the House of Lords.

As you will have seen last week, at last Tuesday’s (28^th October) sitting, the Lords accepted the Commons position on all but six issues, including:

1. Right to guaranteed hours: The Lords originally amended the Bill to make the right to guaranteed hours a right for employees to request rather than a duty on employers to offer. The Commons disagreed. The Lords did not insist on their original amendment, but instead proposed an alternative – allowing workers who have been offered and have refused guaranteed hours to indicate that they do not wish to receive further offers.
2. Unfair dismissal: The Lords amended the Bill to replace the Government’s proposal to abolish the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal with a reduction from two years to six months. The Commons disagreed, and the Lords have now insisted on their original amendment.
3. Seasonal work: The Lords amended the Bill to introduce a definition of seasonal work and require the Secretary of State to have regard to its specific characteristics and requirements. The Commons disagreed. Lords did not insist on their original amendment but proposed an alternative amendment that still defines seasonal work and requires it to be taken into account, while also allowing the Secretary of State to amend the definition through regulations.
4. Trade union political fund: The Lords amended the Bill to replace the clause allowing trade union members to opt out of political fund contributions with a requirement that members must opt in. The Commons disagreed, and the Lords have now insisted on their original amendment.
5. Threshold for industrial action: The Lords amended the Bill to reinstate the requirement that at least 50% of eligible trade union members must vote in favour of industrial action. The Commons disagreed and the Lords have insisted on their original amendment.

The Commons rejected all of the Lords amendments, with MPs repeatedly backing the government’s landmark reforms by a margin of approximately two-to-one.

Protection from unfair dismissal as a day-one right has been under significant and sustained attack over the past few weeks. During the debate, Employment Rights Minister, Kate Dearden, restated the Government’s position, saying:

We remain committed to delivering unfair dismissal protections from day one – not two years, not six months, but day one.

She said it was a clear pledge in Labour’s manifesto that “will ensure that about nine million employees” who have worked for their employer for less than two years are protected from being arbitrarily fired.

On the issue of balloting thresholds, the Government tabled an amendment in lieu that “will require the Secretary of State to have regard to any effects of the introduction of electronic balloting on the proportion of those entitled to vote in industrial action ballots who actually do so”. Dearden said:

We recognise that this issue has generated debate, which is why the Government have tabled an amendment in lieu that will require the Secretary of State to have regard to any effects of the introduction of electronic balloting on the proportion of those entitled to vote in industrial action ballots who actually do so. We have previously committed to aligning the removal of the threshold with the establishment of e-balloting as an option for trade unions. This amendment gives statutory effect to that commitment and makes it explicit in the underlying legislation. In having regard to the effects of e-balloting, the Government will monitor and assess the practical impacts of e-balloting on participant rates and the 50% threshold.

The Bill is now due to return to the Lords on the 14^th November, where Peers will once again consider the Commons’ reasons for disagreement.