Thanks for signing up to our ERB hub - we hope you've had a chance to look at the hub, find your way around and have a read of our key provisions section. 

The purpose of this update is to answer these three questions:

• Where is the Bill in the parliamentary process?
• Have any changes been made?
• Are we any clearer on the timings and details?

Where is the Bill?

The Bill has had two readings in the House of Commons and been through committee stage.

This last stage is the longest, as it's where the scrutiny of the Bill takes place. Most amendments made at this stage are those tabled by the Government. That has been the case here and we have an amended Bill published on  27 January 2025 (see link in hub).  

It has two more stages in the House of Commons (report stage and third reading) before it starts the process again in the House of Lords. MPs can propose amendments during the report stage (usually 2 weeks after committee stage) and the Speaker decides which ones will be discussed and voted on although generally there are fewer amendments at this stage than at committee stage.  

The third reading is a short one (usually on the same day as the report stage ends) and culminates in a vote to approve the Bill. No Government bill has been defeated at this stage since 1977 so we are pretty confident that the ERB will be passed without mishap to the House of Lords. 

Have any changes been made?

We do have some changes, several material as outlined below*;

• The key one for most employers is the extension of the three-month limit to six months to bring a claim at tribunal.  Our update on that change is linked to the hub.
• Provisions regards the removal of the three-day waiting period for SSP extended to Northern Ireland.
• Compensation limits for dismissal during the initial period are to be different to those after that period. 
• Government to introduce regulations whereby all staff working on an outsourced contract be employed on the same terms as a contracting public authority.  Our update is linked to the hub.  

Other amendments that received press coverage such as the banning of NDAs, and bereavement leave for staff who have miscarriages have not made it through to the Bill. That said, there is widespread support for the latter and so that might still make it into the Bill.  

*This is not a comprehensive list but rather ones we consider material going forward 

Are we any clearer on the timings and details?

Unfortunately, despite the debates and amendments we still have no further concrete changes or timings to work with.  

Whilst we expect the Bill to become law later this year (convention prevents the House of Lords from blocking a Bill which is part of a manifesto promise) the Government minister who tabled the Bill confirmed in the debates that there will be a phased commencement of provisions over two years.  

This sounds like a long time but with no specifics on guaranteed hours offers, statutory probationary periods and other issues, October 2026 could come around very quickly!  

We will update you on developments as soon as we have information.  

In the meantime, if you would like to see additional material on the hub, please contact me.