House Of Lords Water Down Key Workers Protection Reforms In The Employment Rights Bill

Workers hoping for long-overdue improvements to their rights will now have to wait longer, after Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers voted to weaken several key protections in the Employment Rights Bill.

In addition to diluting core elements of the Bill, peers also passed a controversial amendment rolling back 105-year-old child labour protections to allow children to work on heritage railways.

The Employment Rights Bill had promised a range of progressive changes, including:

    * A ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts

    * Day-one protection from unfair dismissal

    * The removal of anti-trade union restrictions

    * Improved statutory sick pay

These reforms aimed to address the growing problem of insecure work, which successive governments had failed to tackle. But at the latest stage in the House of Lords, Tory and Lib Dem peers collaborated to weaken or remove many of these protections—measures that were central to the Labour government’s manifesto.

Key Amendments Passed by the Lords

The amendments approved by the Lords risk undermining the very purpose of the Bill. These include:

    Requiring workers on variable hours to request secure contracts, rather than mandating employers to offer them

    Extending the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection to six months

    Weakening trade union influence by requiring workers to opt-in to political funds, instead of opting out

    Reinstating the 50% turnout threshold for industrial action ballots

    Allowing academy trusts to reduce protections for school support staff

    Permitting commercial organisations to represent workers in grievance and disciplinary procedures

    Creating a new Office of the Whistleblower

    Giving special constables the right to time off for policing duties

    Requiring consultation on the Bill’s impact on small businesses

    Allowing children to volunteer on heritage railways

Why These Changes Matter

If these amendments are kept in the final legislation, they would significantly weaken worker protections and give unscrupulous employers more power to exploit staff.

For example, requiring workers on insecure contracts to ask for stable hours shifts the burden onto employees—many of whom may not be aware of their rights or fear retaliation for making requests. In contrast, the original Bill required employers to proactively offer secure contracts to eligible workers.

Similarly, reintroducing a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection would give employers a window to dismiss workers without a fair process or reason—undermining job security. The original legislation already allowed dismissal for valid reasons such as misconduct or poor performance.

The amendment on political funds is seen as an attempt to weaken the collective voice of workers, while the reintroduction of a turnout threshold for strikes makes it harder for workers to take industrial action—even where they face poor conditions or unfair treatment.

What Happens Next?

The Bill is set to return to the House of Commons in September, where MPs will review the Lords’ amendments. The government is under pressure to reject the changes that weaken protections for workers and reverse the erosion of key Labour manifesto commitments.

The legislative process—known as “ping-pong”—will continue as the two houses debate and vote on the final shape of the Bill.

These Lords amendments put peers at odds not only with the Labour government but also with public opinion, including many voters from their own parties.

A recent mega-poll by the TUC found overwhelming public support for the Bill’s central policies. For instance, 72% of UK voters support a ban on zero-hours contracts—including 65% of Reform UK voters and 63% of Conservative voters from the 2024 general election.

The Fight Continues

Trade Unions and many Labour MPs have pledged to continue campaigning for the full package of reforms to be implemented. It rem ains to be seen whether or not this Starmer Government will accept the Lords changes, or revert back to the original Bill and ensure it is passed in the Commons.

Source: TUC