Ministers have abandoned plans to give workers day-one protection against unfair dismissal in a bid to ensure the Government’s Employment Rights Bill makes it through Parliament.
People will need to have six months of service to claim unfair dismissal against their employer, in a watering down of the legislation which breaches Labour’s manifesto.
This is reduced from the current qualifying period of 24 months.
The legislation has been caught in a stand-off between peers and MPs over the Government’s plan to give workers protection on their first day in a job, as well as measures to ban “exploitative” zero hours contracts.
In an update on Thursday, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said: “The Government convened a series of constructive conversations between trade unions and business representatives.
“On the basis of the outcome of these discussions, the Government will now move forward on the issue of unfair dismissal protections in the Employment Rights Bill to ensure it can reach royal assent and keep to the Government’s published delivery timeline.”
It went on: “The discussions concluded that reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from 24 months to six months (whilst maintaining existing day-one protection against discrimination and automatically unfair grounds for dismissal) is a workable package.”
The Government insisted the amended package would “benefit millions of working people who will gain new rights and offer business and employers much-needed clarity”.
“To further strengthen these protections, the Government has committed to ensure that the unfair dismissal qualifying period can only be varied by primary legislation and that the compensation cap will be lifted,” the DBT said.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the “absolute priority” was to get the legislation on to the statute books.
“The Employment Rights Bill is essential to better quality, more secure jobs for millions of workers across the economy,” he said.
“The absolute priority now is to get these rights – like day-one sick pay – on the statute book so that working people can start benefiting from them from next April.
“Following the Government’s announcement, it is now vital that peers respect Labour’s manifesto mandate and that this Bill secures royal assent as quickly as possible.”
