Labour’s workers’ rights legislation has been plunged into a parliamentary “ping pong” battle after a series of government defeats in the House of Lords.
Peers inflicted defeats on zero-hours contracts, unfair dismissal claims from day one, industrial action ballot thresholds and union members paying a political levy.
The flagship Employment Rights Bill, championed by Angela Rayner until she resigned as deputy prime minister, now goes back to the Commons yet again.
Although the bill is now close to reaching the statute book, senior Tories and business leaders have fought an 11th-hour rearguard action in a bid to derail it.
In the latest debate on the bill in the Lords, the government suffered five defeats by large margins at the hands of Tory, Liberal Democrat and crossbench peers, including:
- First, peers voted by 302 votes to 159, a majority of 143, in favour of an amendment on zero-hours contracts, opposing Labour’s move to force employers to offer guaranteed hours to employees from day one.
- Next the opposition defeated by 301 votes to 153, majority 148, the government’s controversial plans to allow workers to take employers to a tribunal for unfair dismissal from day one in a new job
- Then Labour suffered a further defeat by 267 votes to 153, majority 114, as peers demanded keeping the 50% turnout threshold for an industrial action ballot of trade union members to be valid.
- And a move to sign up new trade union members automatically to pay a political levy was rejected by 249 votes to 142, majority 107, in a further blow to the government.
Moving the zero hours amendment, Lib Dem Lord Fox said: “We share ministers’ aims on making sure that every employee has the right to guaranteed hours moving from zero-hours, guaranteed hours.”
But he added: “For the smaller and medium-sized employer it is an added burden that doesn’t need to be there if the employee does not wish to leave zero hours.”
The aim of this amendment is to make sure that both sides are managed well, and both sides have the opportunity to change.”
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On day one unfair dismissal claims, Conservative peer Baron Sharpe of Epsom said workers being protected from unfair dismissal from day one in a job would scare bosses off “taking a risk” on young workers.
“Making unfair dismissal a day one right will inhibit hiring, and this concern is heightened in the current labour market context of falling jobs,” he said.
And independent crossbencher Lord Vaux of Harrowden said: “The introduction of day one unfair dismissal rights is the most damaging element in this Bill, in my opinion.”
But bosses’ opposition to the bill was attacked by former TUC general secretary Baroness (Francis) O’Grady, who said: “Under the Employment Rights Bill, employers can still dismiss workers fairly – for example, as they can now if they are incompetent or there is misconduct or a redundancy situation.
“But without the day one protection proposed by the government, when workers move to a new job, they would continue to bear the risk that they can be sacked at whim.
“When I look back on employers’ opposition to the national minimum wage, to equal pay for women and to stronger health and safety rights, it is clear that business lobbies do not always know what is best for Britain.”
