Labour Government Policy Hub

Prior to the general election, the Labour Party promised significant reforms to employment law in its Labour Party Manifesto and its Plan to Make Work Pay. The Labour Party won the election and is seeking to deliver on its manifesto pledges.

Following the King's Speech on 17 July 2024, employers eagerly awaited details of the potential reforms. The King’s Speech Briefing Notes promised two key new Bills in the 2024/25 Parliamentary Session:  

• the Employment Rights Bill; and 
• the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.  

Key developments

The Employment Rights Bill was published on 10 October 2024, alongside an announcement and a Next Steps to Make Work Pay document, which sets out the Government’s visions, objectives and plan for the delivery of the manifesto commitments promised in its previously published Plan to Make Work Pay.  

To read an overview of our take on the Employment Rights Bill, please see our article here.  

The Government has indicated that the delivery of its Plan to Make Work Pay will be carried out in phases: 

• The Employment Rights Bill is described as phase one of delivering the Government’s plans for reform.  

• In addition, some reforms are being delivered alongside the Employment Rights Bill via existing powers and non-legislative routes such as changes to minimum wage rates and a code of practice on the right to switch off.  

• Additional reforms are promised in the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill to be published in draft in the 2024/25 Parliamentary Session. 

• Longer-term reforms are also promised but the Government recognises that these will take longer to undertake and implement.  

Further developments include: 

• On 21 October 2024, the first set of consultations on some of the missing details of the Employment Rights Bill were also published. 
• On 30 October 2024, further announcements were made in respect of pay and tax in the Autumn Budget.
• Amendments to the Employments Rights Bill will be proposed during its passage through Parliament.  Most significantly some 53 pages of amendments were tabled on 27 November 2024. By way of note, amendments that have been proposed by the Government are more likely to be passed, in comparison to amendments proposed by opposition MPs which are often there to spark debate during committee stages. Accordingly, we have only included the tabled Government amendments in this hub.

Navigating the hub

In this hub, we keep track of all the latest developments in respect of each key employment law reforms and set out an overview of anticipated timings. We will continue to update the hub as developments come through.

Delve into the details of the key reforms by clicking on the headings to the left.  

Please note that this hub does not include plans in respect of Northern Ireland, as employment law matters are devolved to Northern Ireland.  

If you have any questions regarding how the information in this tracker could impact your business, please get in touch with us.