ON THE FIRST DAY, LET THERE BE RIGHTS

Labour’s self-imposed 100 day time limit means that their draft Employment Bill should be laid before Parliament by 12 October 2024. It is anticipated that the draft Bill will, amongst other things, address Labour’s plan to introduce day one unfair dismissal rights. It has previously been suggested that there will be a carve out of this particular right for probation periods. On 19 September, the Financial Times reported that employers will be able to put employees on a probation period of 6 months, which seems to be a compromise between Angela Rayner’s desire for a ‘brief’ probationary period and Jonathan Reynolds’ (Business Secretary) preference for 9 months. As it stands, however, we have no further clarification on how the carve out will work, nor whether the right will apply to the broader category of ‘worker’. So, as much as it’s a phrase which we normally try to avoid using in HR Matters, it really is a case of watch this space.