The King’s Speech: A new deal for working people

This article is written by ARAG’s business partners at Ashfords Solicitors

His Majesty King Charles III delivered the King’s Speech in Parliament today, 17 July 2024. The King’s Speech outlined the Labour Government’s plan for legislative reform, which seeks to promote “security, fairness, and opportunity for all”. To achieve this, the Government are intending to introduce new legislation in a number of areas, including proposed changes to Employment rights.

The Government’s focus is on economic growth, and the aim is to tackle the cost of living crisis by focusing on the “partnership” with businesses and working people. Labour has proposed draft Bills, which once passed through parliament, will lead to new legislation.

The King’s Speech touched briefly on these proposed legislative changes to Employment rights, stating that they are committed to “making work pay”, by seeking to “ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights” through the Employment Rights Bill. Race equality legislation will also be drafted to “enshrine” the legal right to equal pay.

The Prime Minister’s Briefing Notes

Official publication from the Prime Minister’s Public Office (which accompanied the King’s Speech) suggests that the Employment Rights Bill will be “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.

The main focus on legislative reform in respect to Employment rights will be:

• Banning exploitative zero-hour contracts;
• Ending ‘fire and re-hire’ practices;
• Introducing employment rights from day one (including protection from unfair dismissal);
• Ensuring minimum wage is a genuine living wage, thus tackling the cost of living crisis;
• Race equality legislation enshrining the right to equal pay;
• Making flexible working the default position, with a requirement on employers to accommodate this as far as is reasonable; and
• Greater access to trade unions by ensuring that workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within the workplace.

Whilst the King’s Speech and accompanying Briefing Notes provide us with an indication as to the changes that are on the horizon we will need to wait until the draft Employment Rights Bill is produced and debated before Parliament before we can say for certain how these changes will operate on a practical level for employers and employees alike. One thing we can be certain of however is that change is coming and it is likely to be the biggest change we have seen to employment rights for quite some time.