Labour have been in government for less than two months, but their position was made clear in their manifesto, which stated “Britain’s outdated employment laws are not fit for the modern economy”. Whilst leaving any conclusion on the merits of this statement to another time, Labour confirmed they would be implementing legislation within their first 100 days to shake up UK employment law, and we wait with bated breath!

To tackle this, they promise to implement Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering a New Deal for Working People in full, and they promise to implement legislation within 100 days

It isn’t clear whether they intend to implement the entire plan within the first 100 days, but this seems very unlikely, and it would be a seriously tall order – there are several, major changes they want to make. So, what are some of the key changes to be aware of, that may or may not be made in the next few weeks?

1. Unfair dismissal rights to become a “day one” right. Currently, employees must wait for two years to gain unfair dismissal rights, which Labour say discourages movement across the workforce, as employees are incentivised to stay with the same employer to maintain those rights. Whilst this logic is to our mind questionable, it appears that there will be an exemption for employees within their probationary period, but after that period, employers will only be able to dismiss employees for a fair reason (typically capability, conduct or redundancy), following a fair process, or face unfair dismissal claims from employees with any length of service.
2. Flexible working to be the default position. Flexible working will be made the default position from day one, for all workers, except where it is not “reasonably feasible”. We do not yet have clarity about what kind of flexible working will become default, what “reasonably feasible” looks like, or whether an employer’s decision that it is not reasonably feasible to offer flexible working will be open to challenge.
3. Fire and rehire. Labour have committed to ending “fire and rehire”, a practice whereby employers fire employees and rehire them on less favourable terms and conditions (or threaten to do so, if the employee does not sign up to the new terms). A new Code of Practice relating to fire and rehire was published on 18 July 2024, which allows tribunals to uplift compensation by up to 25% where the Code has not been followed. However, the Code was put together under the Conservative government, and considering Labour’s promise to end the practice, we expect that the Code will be repealed or amended.
4. Extension of time to bring employment claims. Labour have said they will increase the time limit within which employees are able to bring an employment tribunal claim from three months to six months. This will have a major impact on employers, who could be waiting for well over six months (considering early conciliation and tribunal delays) for a claim to “land” on their desk.
5. Right to switch off. The ‘right to switch off’ from work will be introduced, to avoid “homes turning into 24/7 offices”. The implementation of this is key in terms of how it will affect employers. Recently, a similar rule was implemented in Australia. Whilst the Australian law does not ban employers from contacting workers after hours, it gives staff the right not to reply unless their refusal is deemed unreasonable.
6. Extension of protection to mothers returning to work. In an extension to the existing protections from redundancy for new parents, Labour will make it unlawful to dismiss for any reason a woman who is pregnant and for six months after her return to work, except in specific circumstances. Again, it is not clear yet what those specific circumstances will be, although presumably, they will be quite limited (and potentially only misconduct related).
7. Unpaid internships. Unpaid internships are to be banned, except when they are part of an education or training course.
8. Zero hours contracts. Labour have pledged to end “one sided flexibility”. Zero hours contracts will be banned, and everyone will have the right to have a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work.
9. Genuine living wage. Labour have promised to introduce a minimum wage that is a real living wage that people can live on. They will also remove the age bands relating to the national minimum wage. 
10. Single status of worker. The UK currently has a three-tier system for employment status, with people classified as employees, self-employed or ‘workers.’ Labour intends to move towards two simple categories: “worker” or “self-employed”. This will involve consultation, and we expect there will be lots of competing views to consider, so this is unlikely to be implemented quickly.
11. Self-employment rights. Labour have said they will give improved rights to self-employed workers, including giving them a right to a written contract, action to tackle late payments, and extending health and safety protections. 
12. Menopause in the workplace. Large employers with more than 250 employees will be required to produce Menopause Action Plans, setting out how they will support employees through the menopause. There will also be menopause related guidance published for all employers. There is no mention of menopause becoming a specific protected characteristic for the purposes of the Equality Act (in all likelihood on the basis that similar protected characteristics cover menopause).
13. Other changes: Labour will consider implementing paid carers’ leave (balancing this against the impact on small employers); clarify the law around bereavement leave, and ensure it is available to all workers; strengthen whistleblower protections; and widen the requirement to collectively consult with employees in a collective redundancy scenario.

What should you do to prepare?

1. Ensure that your template employment contracts have robust probationary period clauses (which, for good measure, are clear they apply before the employment starts).
2. Consider what level of flexible working can be offered (if any) and consider putting in place a clear flexible working policy. If ‘out of hours’ work is often required, place clear guidelines in a policy as to when this is likely to be reasonable and ensure that managers adhere to those guidelines. 
3. Review current employment practices, and the engagement of a-typical workers, for example, unpaid interns, workers and zero hours employees. Consider whether these employees can be moved onto different types of contracts, and the impact this may have on the business.
4. Ensure that any employment issues, for example with performance or misconduct, are being dealt with in a timely and robust way. Ensure that rigorous hiring processes are put into place. Consider putting into place a specific capability procedure, distinct from your disciplinary procedure.
5. Think about any fire and rehire requirements you may have now, taking into account the Code of Practice, before the practice becomes unlawful.

If you need any assistance with matters of employment law, please contact David Farquharson