It's a new term at the Houses of Parliament and time to see whether the Government has its pencils sharpened and is ready to pass the Employment Rights Bill.

How did the summer term end?

You may remember from our August update that the House of Lords voted through some key amendments to the Bill (workers to ask for a guaranteed hours offer rather than the employer to offer; day one unfair dismissal to become a six-month qualification period; only fire and rehire dismissals on certain ‘restricted’ variations unfair) were the main headlines.   

How has the autumn started?

The amended Bill passed its third reading in the House of Lords on 3 September, so it's now back to the House of Commons - they will discuss and vote on the amendments in preparation for the Bill receiving Royal Assent and becoming law.  

The Government has a substantial majority and so could numerically reject the amendments and pass a Bill with their election promises intact.  However, with the departure of Angela Rayner, a driving force behind the zero-hour contract provisions, and a government perhaps in need of wider support from employers, it is unwise to assume that this will automatically happen. The next few weeks are crucial, especially with a party conference at the end of the month - the party faithful will want confirmation of day one rights and the abolition of ‘exploitative zero-hour contracts’. It will be an unhappy crowd in Liverpool if the House of Lords' amendments stay.  

How do we think the autumn will end? 

Unless something dramatic happens, we will have an Employment Rights Act by the end of the autumn (I hope I don't regret making such an emphatic statement!). But that is essentially only the starting gun. We have the roadmap setting out the time frame and so we wait for the consultations we have been promised and try and piece together the details that have been so lacking from the framework of the Bill.  

Next steps for you

• Watch out for updates in your inbox
• Check our hub for details of amendments to the Bill 
• Watch out for our consultation kit - we are developing a new part of the hub which will enable you to stay up to date with the relevant consultations for your sector 
• Sign up and attend our Employment Law Update 2025 for more information on the ERB and other updates from the last 12 months