Employment Rights Bill: Parliamentary ping-pong persists

The Parliamentary ping-pong over the Employment Rights Bill continued this week, with various provisions being sent back from the House of Lords for further review and debate in the Commons.

There has been shuttling back and forth on the Bill since October, with concerns growing that the political impasse could delay its progress to Royal Assent and implementation.

Provisions on day one unfair dismissal rights, first, were sent back, with the Lords continue to insist on a six-month eligibility period for claiming unfair dismissal, rather than day-one rights.On guaranteed hours, the Lords are advocating for a scheme whereby workers can choose to opt-out of receiving guaranteed hours offers. The Lords also want to change how the secretary of state makes regulations in this area.

On trade unions, the Lords continue to disagree with the proposal that union members be automatically opted-in to a union's political fund and, on industrial action, contest the removal of the requirement that there is a turnout of at least 50% for ballots on industrial action.

Lord Fox, Liberal Democrat, told peers yesterday: "Your Lordships could be excused for a sense of déjà vu, perhaps because we are back in your Lordships' House with the same issues we discussed on 28 October. They remain unresolved and, indeed, not addressed in any meaningful way."

He thanked ministers in the Lords for an engaging meeting since the last "very similar session of ping-pong".

"The prospect of that meeting gave me a sense of anticipation," he said. "I expected some sort of legislative rabbit to be pulled out of the government's hat at that point, but no, there was nothing.

"At first, I thought something substantive was being concealed for tactical reasons, perhaps ready to be flourished in some dramatic prestige at the moment that pleased the ministers. But it has become increasingly clear that not only is there no rabbit in the care of the benches opposite, but there is actually no hat. If there is a hat, it exists elsewhere, and for that I have some sympathy for the Ministers opposite, because they sit bare-headed at the moment, with nothing to offer."