According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, the government should ‘as a priority’ begin preparing a plan of implementation for employers in preparation for the introduction of the Employment Rights Act.
Bill Willmott wrote in a new Blog on the CIPD’s website that the biggest concern for businesses about the Employment Rights Bill is the difficulty in implementing many changes all at once.
Willmott stated that, although the government has committed to phase-in the new measures, the majority will be implemented at “common start dates” either in April or October and not before 2026. The only timetable that the government has confirmed so far is the new probationary period. It won’t go into effect until October 2026.
Acas also needs to have more resources in order to improve its capacity to give advice and guidance to organizations. Willmott wrote that HR leaders must be helped to understand their role in managing employees fairly and in compliance with the law.
The CIPD stated that it expects few changes to the Bill when it passes through the House of Lords. However, there is still the option of “refining certain key measures”, which will be subject to consultations and detailed in secondary legislation.
The final draft of the new laws would allow unions easier access to workplaces and recognition by the government. Willmott wrote that “a lot of details on the new rights for workers with zero hours are still to be finalised.”
He said that ministers must be in a “genuine listening mode” to ensure changes are “workable and do not have unintended and unnecessary consequences for employers or workers”.
Willmott said that, as “the government intends to pass the Bill by the summer recess of parliament at the end July”, the consultations to lay out key details in secondary legislation “would likely need to occur in the second half this year”.
The CIPD’s blog echoed employers’ concerns about rising costs of workforce after the Bill was introduced. reported on this last month following a survey. This included the introduction of a statutory probationary period, new rights to zero-hours employees and changes to statutory sickness pay.
Researchers found that almost a third (33%) of the organisations that said their costs for employment would increase would be forced to reduce headcount by reducing hiring or making redundancies. Another fifth said that they would cut back on overtime, bonuses and staff training.
Nearly one fifth of the organisations who expect that legislation will increase employment costs are more likely to use temporary workers. 10% said they would increase their use other atypical employees and self-employed contractors.
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