The Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”) is making its way through parliament and will soon have Royal Assent and become the Employment Rights Act.
Some changes will be implemented from Royal Assent or very soon afterwards, and therefore employers need to be taking steps to prepare now. The changes will be coming into force very soon and therefore we recommend taking the actions below as a matter of urgency. These would be your red flags and we suggest you need to act immediately to incorporate these changes.
Changes to Industrial Action
It is particularly important to take action now if you have a unionised work force or a work force that may wish to go that way. This is because the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 (Strikes Act) will be repealed immediately following Royal Assent. The Strikes Act enabled the Secretary of State to set minimum service levels for strikes in certain sectors, including health, transport, education, fire and rescue, border control, nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management services sectors, so that businesses can maintain specified minimum service levels.
The intention behind the repeal of The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 is to strengthen industrial relations and reset relationships with staff in public services. However, on a practical level, we are unlikely to see any tangible difference straight away because work notices have not been widely taken up. An employer can issue a work notice ahead of a strike to specify the workforce required to meet the minimum service levels for that strike period. Organisations are encouraged to carefully review these proposed changes so that, when implemented, they do not risk increasing tensions in the workforce by seeking to enforce outdated requirements.
The majority of the Trade Union Act 2016 will also be repealed two months after the ERB receives Royal Assent. The measures to be repealed are as follows:
• Removal of the 50% turnout requirement to strike;
• Removal of the 40% threshold in strike ballots in key sectors; and
• Removal of the 14 days notice of industrial action, it will instead be 7 days.
Therefore, industrial action notices and industrial action ballot notices will be simplified. There will also be protections against dismissal for taking industrial action.
You can read more about the changes to be made here: Industrial Action – Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and Trade Union Act 2016 and Protections against dismissal for taking industrial action.
What does this mean for employers?
The practical steps for employers to take now include:
• Review your Trade Union Relationships;
• Check any collective bargaining agreements and set them on the agenda;
• Engage with trade unions and work force about their priorities.
Engaging in a proactive dialogue with employees and Trade Unions will help to ensure their relationships remain collaborative in advance of the changes. Employers should also ensure that they are monitoring the statutory guidance closely and ensuring that relevant agreements are updated accordingly.
If you would like to speak to anyone about the content of this blog please contact a member of the Employment team.
To find out what other aspects of employment law are affected by the Employment Rights Bill, read our blog “The Employment Rights Bill – When to expect change”.
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