Employment Rights Bill update: paper to note

1. The Welsh Government provided a comprehensive written update on the Employment Rights Bill for the Social Partnership Council (SPC) meeting held on 5 December. This included a summary of the content and provisions within the Bill. This update paper does not repeat that information. For an overview of the Bill, SPC members are advised to refer to the previous paper.  
    
2. This update paper focusses on developments since the 5 December paper and covers:  
   (i) The Legislative Consent Memorandum and Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum laid before the Senedd by the Welsh Government. 
   (ii)  A summary of the Bill’s Public Bill Committee Stage.  
   (iii) An overview of the Business and Trade Select Committee inquiry.  
   (iv) A reminder of the formal consultations held by the UK Government.  
    
3. This update paper also summarises Welsh Government positions in respect of three issues alluded to in the 5 December paper, (a) fair pay agreements in social care; (b) Equality Action Plans; (c) School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
    
4. Finally, this paper looks ahead to Report Stage and beyond – albeit Parliamentary timetables beyond Report Stage are to be decided.

5. The Welsh Government has laid a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) and Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (SLCM) in the Senedd. This is in accordance with Standing Order 29 of Senedd proceedings and in recognition that certain clauses of the Employment Rights Bill affect devolved matters.
    
6. The LCM and SLCM have been referred to the Senedd’s Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee, the Equality and Social Justice Committee, and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, with a reporting deadline of 7 March 2025. A debate will then take place in due course.  
    
7. Both the LCM and SLCM make clear that the Employment Rights Bill is consistent with the Welsh Government’s focus on fair work and provides an opportunity to strengthen employment rights for workers in Wales. The Welsh Government is therefore advising that the Senedd supports the proposals and gives its consent to the Bill.

8. A House of Commons Public Bill Committee took evidence and examined the Employment Rights Bill between 26 November 2024 and 16 January 2025.
    
9. The committee held oral evidence sessions with stakeholders, including trade unions, employer associations, and employment law experts. The committee also examined each clause of the Bill in detail, discussing amendments and their implications.
    
10. A total of 264 amendments were tabled during Committee Stage. All opposition amendments were either withdrawn, not moved, or failed to command a majority in the committee. A total of 149 amendments were agreed. All of these without exception were UK Government amendments.  
     
11. Many of the amendments were technical in nature, however two significant amendments were those which introduced new clauses on:  

• Increasing the time limits within which people can make a claim to an employment tribunal (for almost all claims), from three months to six months.
• Introducing new powers to implement international maritime conventions and a Seafarer’s Charter through regulations.

12. The Business and Trade Select Committee has held an inquiry into the Employment Rights Bill. The Committee gathered written evidence and held three oral evidence sessions between 17 December and 14 January.
     
13. The purpose of the inquiry is to evaluate whether the Bill will effectively protect workers and enhance job security, as well as to consider its impact on businesses. The Committee has concluded its inquiry, and its report is now awaited.

14. The UK Government held four consultations on specific aspects of the Bill. These consultations relate to:  

• Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay – the consultation ran from 21 October to 4 December 2024.
• Collective Redundancy and Fire and Rehire – the consultation ran from 21 October to 2 December 2024.
• Creating a Modern Framework for Industrial Relations – the consultation ran from 21 October to 2 December 2024.
• Application of Zero Hours Contracts Measures to Agency Workers – the consultation ran from 21 October to 2 December 2024.

15. The UK Government is reviewing its response to these consultations. In some cases, such as the replacement rate for statutory sick pay, the UK Government has indicated it plans to introduce amendments at the Report Stage. In other cases, the consultations will inform the content of future regulations made under the powers granted by the Bill.

16. The Bill includes provisions to establish an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body to make agreements about the pay, terms, and conditions of adult social care workers ("fair pay agreements") in England.
     
17. Following extensive discussions between the Welsh and UK Government, the UK Government has agreed to introduce an amendment that will grant Welsh Ministers the power to establish a similar negotiating body in Wales.
     
18. The Welsh Government has successfully advocated for the inclusion of children's services in Wales. This reflects a significant policy difference with England. It will allow a fair pay agreement in Wales to apply across all social care, aligning with our policy approach in Wales, rather than being limited to adult social care as in England.

19. The Bill includes provisions for regulations requiring employers with 250 or more employees to create an Equality Action Plan. This plan should outline how they intend to address gender pay gap issues and support employees experiencing menopause.
     
20. While non-devolved public bodies, as well as private and third sector employers with 250 or more employees are within scope, devolved Welsh authorities are not included, except for the Senedd Commission. This aligns with Schedule 19 of the Equality Act 2010. Welsh Ministers have the authority to act concerning Welsh public authorities, as demonstrated by our Wales-specific public sector equality duty.

21. The Bill includes provisions to re-establish a School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) for England. The Bill will do this by amending the Education Act, whose territorial extent is England only. Officials have provided advice to the Cabinet Secretary for Education on a range of options. The advice is under consideration.

22. We expect the Commons Report Stage to take place across two days (11 and 12 March), although at the time of writing, this is yet to be confirmed. The expectation remains that the Bill will achieve Royal Assent before the Summer Recess. However, this remains subject to parliamentary proceedings and timetables over which we do not have certainty at this stage.  
     
23. The Welsh Government’s overall position in support of the Bill remains clear and it welcomes the upgrade to workers’ rights, the strengthening of enforcement, and the removal of unnecessary restrictions on trade unions which the Bill will deliver.  

NB: This Bill is evolving rapidly, with lots of complex elements. While this paper accurately reflects the position as of 24 February 2025 (to meet the deadline for submitting papers for the March SPC meeting), it cannot account for developments on any of the above or the publication of UK Government report stage amendments that occur after this deadline, but before the SPC meeting on 12 March.