Following the release of the Employment Rights Bill, its Impact Assessment was published last week showing that the new Bill will have a “positive direct impact on economic growth.”
The Bill received a majority vote at its second reading in the House of Commons last week, and now goes to committee stage, where it will be given a detailed examination.
The government has now launched consultations on 4 areas of the proposed legislation, which will become part of amendments that will be made to the Bill in the early part of 2025.
The consultations are as follows:
1. Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
The Bill will remove the waiting period for SSP as well as the Lower Earnings Limit, so that all employees, regardless of how much they earn, will have SSP available from day one of their employment.
The consultation is considering what the percentage replacement rate should be for those who earn below the current rate.
The consultation, which will close on 4 December 2024, can be found here.
2. Application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers
This consultation is looking for views on how the zero hours contracts measures in the Employment Rights Bill can best be applied to agency workers without causing unintended consequences. It will close on 2 December 2024.
The consultation can be viewed here.
3. Creating a modern framework for industrial relations
The government is consulting on various specific measures to modernise the legislative framework that underpins trade unions. This consultation will also close on 2 December 2024 and can be viewed here.
4. Collective redundancy and fire and rehire
This fourth consultation is looking for views on measures to strengthen the collective redundancy framework and protections for employees against fire and rehire practices. The consultation closes on 2 December 2024 and can be viewed here.
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/up-to-600-cash-boost-for-britains-lowest-paid-to-help-kickstart-the-economy
UK businesses are facing a “cost of business crisis”, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Its new cost-stack calculator shows government policy alone has pushed up an average firm's expenses by 70% over the past decade, adding roughly £827,000 a year in costs for a typical mid-sized business. About a quarter of the rise stems from the increase in employer National Insurance contributions, with the higher minimum wage and mandatory pension auto-enrolment also major contributors.
Under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, sole traders and landlords with income of more than £50,000 have been required to keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC since 6 April 2026.