On 7 July 2025, the Government released a comprehensive report listing the latest amendments to the Employment Rights Bill (the “Bill”). The proposed amendments are crucial as they outline the evolving framework and its implications for employers and employees. The Bill will enter the Report Stage on 14 July, where decisions regarding the amendments will be made. During the Report Stage, further amendments can be introduced before the third reading, which aims to ensure the Bill is as clear and effective as possible.

Zero Hour Contracts (“ZHCs”)

 Regarding ZHCs, the Bill imposes a responsibility on the end hirer to offer “guaranteed hours,” a responsibility on both the employment agency and end hirer to provide “reasonable notice” and a responsibility on the employment agency to pay any short notice cancellation or curtailment payments (which they will be allowed to recoup from the hirer in applicable arrangements).

 The amendments confirm that short notice will be at least 48 hours before a shift is due to start, and clarifies that if such notice is given, the employer will not be required to make a payment. This replaces the previous “specified amount of time.”

Statutory Sick Pay (“SSP”)

A new clause 12 has been added regarding the SSP rebate scheme which confirms the Secretary of State must establish a scheme for the reimbursement of SSP costs incurred by companies which employ fewer than 250 staff.

Kinship Care Leave (“KCL”)

 KCL is an arrangement where a child is raised by a friend, relative or extended family member other than a parent. The Bill sets out that the Secretary of State must make regulations entitling an employee to be absent from work on leave if the employee satisfies the specified conditions in the regulations as to an eligible kinship care arrangement with a child.

 Under this section, an employee will be entitled to leave only if the eligible kinship arrangement is intended to last at least one year and until the child being cared for is 18 years old. Subsection 2(a) should ensure that where only one employee is entitled to KCL, the employee is entitled to at least 52 weeks’ leave.

 An eligible “kinship care arrangement” means, for example, a special guardianship, a special kinship child arrangement, a private fostering arrangement, or a private family arrangement.

 An employee on leave under this section is entitled, to the extent that the regulations prescribe, to the benefit of the terms and conditions of employment which would have applied but for the absence.

Contractual duties of confidentiality relating to harassment and discrimination

Clause 22A introduces amendments to the enforceability of confidentiality clauses in employment agreements.

This new clause provides that any provisions in an agreement between an employer and an employee, including settlement agreements, that try to stop the employee from reporting or disclosing incidents of work-related harassment or discrimination (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) will be void.

Clause 22A will be applicable to current or former workers. However, subsection 5 specifies that the Secretary of State may, through regulations, extend this application to individuals who received work experience or training from the employer.

Unfair Dismissal

Amendments made to Section 108 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (“ERA 1996”) (qualifying period of employment) will omit the two years qualifying period and replace this with six months.

Section 92 of the ERA 1996 (the right to a written statement of reasons for dismissal) will be amended to provide that an employee is not entitled to a written statement of reasons for dismissal if the employee is dismissed during the qualifying period for unfair dismissal or the initial period of employment (which begins after the qualifying period). However, if an employee is pregnant or on maternity leave, they are entitled to a written statement of reasons for dismissal regardless of their length of service.

Whistleblowing

 Section 43CA of the ERA 1996 will create the ‘Office of the Whistleblower’ (“the Office”) body within one year of the Employment Rights Act 2025. The functions of the Office will be to set minimum standards for whistleblowing policies, procedures and reporting structures, monitor and enforce compliance with those standards and provide an independent disclosure and reporting service.

 Section 43CA (5) confirms that any whistleblower who is dismissed from their employment may refer their case to the Office, regardless of whether whistleblowing is cited as a cause of their dismissal. Following this, subsection (6) asserts that a person who intentionally or recklessly submits a whistleblower to a detriment is guilty of an offence. Such cases will be heard by the Employment Tribunal which will be able to impose a maximum fine on an individual of 10% of their gross annual income (not exceeding £50,000) or regarding an entity, an amount not exceeding 10% of their annual global turnover.

Fire and Rehire

Clause 26 will ban the dismissal of any employee for refusing to agree a variation of their contract. Clause 26 will limit the new section 104I(1) of the ERA 1996 to cases where the variation of the contract was of a particular kind. For example, this includes reductions in pay or time off and changes to the number of hours an employee is contractually required to work.

A contract will be regarded as “varied” if the terms are not the same terms of the contract of employment under which the employee worked before being dismissed 3A(a) and one or more of the differences between the two sets of terms constitutes a restricted variation 3A(b). A restricted variation, under clause 3B, could be a reduction in pay, variation of pension schemes or terms, variation of hours, variation of the timing or duration of shifts or a reduction of time off.