The Worker (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 (the WPTCA) received Royal Assent in September 2023, with the aim of providing qualifying workers and agency workers with the right to ask their employer for a more predictable working pattern.
The WPTCA outlined this right but separate regulations were required to bring this into force. It was expected that this would happen in September 2024.
It is now being reported that the new Labour government has halted these plans and intends to repeal the HPTCA in due course, opting to incorporate stronger rights for workers into the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill instead.
According to the Labour party’s manifesto, the Employment Rights Bill should be published in October 2024 (i.e. within the first 100 days of the new Labour government). The government have confirmed that the Bill will incorporate the pledges contained in Labour’s Make Work Pay plan. These include:
- Ending "one sided flexibility" between employers and workers.
- Ensuring that all jobs provide a baseline level of security and predictability.
- Establishing a workers’ right to have a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work, based on a 12-week reference period.
- Ensuring all workers get reasonable notice of any change in shifts or working time, with compensation that is proportionate to the notice given for any shifts cancelled or curtailed.
How these proposed changes will be implemented is unknown. It is notable that the Make Work Pay Plan’s right to a predicable working pattern is expressed as a right, rather than simply a right to request as in the WPTCA. It seems we will have to wait for further information on the Employment Rights Bill to see how the government plans tackle these rights in practice.
Grace King