Labour’s Angela Rayner, an original sponsor of the Employment Rights Bill, gave a fiery speech in the Commons today arguing for passing the legislation as swiftly as possible. Time is running desperately low to get the bill through the Lords before parliament enters recess on 18 December.
Rayner isn’t alone in her anger, either. Six of the UK’s largest business and employment bodies have written to the government urging them to ensure that the bill passes by Christmas.
‘What message does this send’?
On 10 December, Conservatives and cross-bench peers voted to block Labour’s Employment Rights Bill in the Lords. Instead, the peers backed a Tory proposal for a review of Labour’s plan to remove the compensation cap in cases of unfair dismissal.
This came just two weeks after Labour dropped the guarantee of day-one unfair dismissal protection from the bill. This was a clear breach of the party’s manifesto pledges, and a betrayal of workers to boot. Before that, Tory and Liberal Democrat peers had already watered the bill down three times. And still the bill didn’t pass the Lords.
Rayner posted a clip of her impassioned speech in favour of passing the bill to Twitter:
Would the minister agree with me – what message does this send to the British public when 33 hereditary peers have tried to defeat the government by 24 votes on a manifesto promise on sick pay, for example, which will miss the deadline for some of the lowest earners from some of the wealthiest. Shouldn’t we get on, go through the night if we have to, and get this bill passed?
We could get rid of the hereditary peerages for a start – but that’s for another time.
For now, it’s not just Rayner who’s angry at the delay in passing the new laws. Six of the UK’s largest employers’ groups have written to business secretary Peter Kyle to say the same:
Now is the time for parliament to pass the bill.
The six signatories comprised of:
- The Confederation of British Industry
- The British Chambers of Commerce
- The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
- The Federation of Small Businesses
- The Recruitment and Employment Confederation
- Small Business Britain
Big business: ‘Pass the bill’
The letter emphasised that the business groups had worked hard to reach a working compromise with the unions:
We were pleased to take part in the constructive discussions with the government and trade unions that led to the agreement on a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal. This outcome came from meaningful, good-faith dialogue that enabled us to reach a consensus that represented a significant step forward which will have a positive impact on growth and opportunities.
For the members we represent, working within an existing framework of qualification periods will make the change to unfair dismissal easier to manage. Government can help make this change a success by supporting employers to ensure they all have robust policies and practices in place. This will allow the 6-month qualifying period to be used effectively to surface any issues of performance or behaviours.
The employment bodies also praised the bill overall, and re-affirmed its urgency:
On the Bill more broadly, we believe that the best way forward is to keep working with the government and trade unions to find balanced solutions through secondary legislation. To avoid losing the 6 months qualifying period, we therefore believe that now is the time for Parliament to pass the Bill.
Businesses still have concerns about several other powers in the Bill, but we are confident that workable agreements can be found in due course under a tripartite model. These include issues related to guaranteed-hours contracts, seasonal and temporary workers, thresholds for industrial action, and the practical application of union rules.
We urge the government to affirm its continued commitment to an ongoing tripartite process. This will ensure that the secondary legislation of the Bill is implemented in the spirit of seeking consensus through compromise which has helped achieve the meaningful progress to date.
‘Absolutely right’
Business secretary Peter Kyle replied to the employment representatives swiftly, getting back to them on 15 December. He started by thanking both the representatives and their union counterparts for their cooperation in agreeing on the terms. Likewise, he also called out the uncertainty that the Lords’ ping-pong created:
Your call for Parliament to now pass the Employment Rights Bill is absolutely right. Business needs certainty and clarity about the details and support for implementation of the new arrangements, just as working people need the certainty of job security and fair reward central to Make Work Pay.
The Employment Rights Bill should be up for debate again today, 16 December, in the House of Lords. The will of the public, the Commons, employers and the unions is behind it.
Should the Lords shoot it down again, they will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are enemies of the worker and the people of the UK.
Featured image via the Canary
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