The Commons Touch: the latest amendments on the Employment Rights Bill

James Cairns, Solicitor

On 15 September 2025, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) hit another milestone as it entered its final parliamentary stages.

As widely anticipated, the House of Commons rejected significant non-government amendments passed by the House of Lords at Report Stage. The Bill will now head back to the Lords, accompanied by reasons for rejection set out by a Commons Committee chaired by Peter Kyle MP, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

ERB Final Stages

As the Bill approaches its final parliamentary hurdle, the Commons has firmly rejected several key amendments proposed by the Lords. Here’s a quick rundown of the key points:

• Unfair dismissal – The Lords wanted to retain a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal, but MPs rejected this. The Commons view is that protection from unfair dismissal should apply from day one of employment.
• Guaranteed hours – The Lords sought to replace the proposed duty to offer guaranteed hours with a simple right to request. The Commons rejected this, stressing that workers who meet the qualifying criteria should receive a guaranteed hours offer.
• Cancelled shifts – The ERB requires employers to provide reasonable notice and pay for short notice cancellations to shifts. The Lords tried to define “short notice” as 48 hours for compensation purposes, however this was rejected as the government.
• Representation in hearings – The Lords’ proposed to let employees be accompanied by a “certified professional companion” to disciplinary and grievance hearings, however this has not survived the process. MPs argued it would increase the cost, complexity and length of such hearings.
• Industrial action ballots – The Lords’ proposal to keep the 50% turnout threshold in industrial action ballots was rejected. The Commons considered it appropriate to remove the rule that industrial action would only be valid if at least half of all eligible members took part in the vote.
• Whistleblowing – Finally, the Lords’ calls for the government to regulate to extend unfair dismissal protection for whistle-blowers and require employers to investigate protected disclosures were dismissed as inappropriate.

And one more important development:

• Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) – At the end of the debate, Peter Kyle MP confirmed that the government would “be moving as fast as possible” to bring in the NDA provisions and consult on secondary legislation. My colleague James Howarth discusses wider changes to NDA’s in his article in this month’s e-bulletin.

What does this mean?

The ERB is edging closer to becoming law, but the back-and-forth between the Commons and Lords shows the level of contention around workers’ rights and employer obligations. We will continue to keep a close eye on developments, particularly day-one unfair dismissal rights, guaranteed hours, and the fast-tracked NDA provisions, all of which will have a real impact in practice.