The government has tabled significant amendments to the Employment Rights Bill following responses to consultations on some aspects of the Bill (specifically, statutory sick pay, the application of zero hours measures to agency workers, collective redundancies, fire and rehire, industrial relations and umbrella companies). These consultation responses can be found here. The amendment paper to the Bill runs to over 200 pages. We are still in the process of considering the detail of this, but some of the key proposed changes are set out below:

• The protective award that can be made if collective redundancy consultation obligations are not met will double from 90 days’ to 180 days’ pay per affected employee. The government is explicitly seeking to deter employers from deliberately ignoring these obligations. 
• Under the current law, employers must collectively consult if they are proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less. The Bill amended this to remove the ‘one establishment’ criteria meaning that the threshold for the statutory requirement to consult collectively would apply to those dismissed across the employer’s organisation. This has again been amended so that the obligation to consult will be triggered either where an employer is proposing to dismiss as redundant within a period of 90 days or less 20 or more employees at one establishment OR at least “the threshold number of employees”. The amended Bill provides that this threshold will be set out in regulations, but may be, for example, a specified percentage of employees.
• The changes previously announced in relation to zero hours contracts will also apply to agency workers, meaning that they will be entitled to be offered a contract guaranteeing minimum hours (this will be responsibility of the end user), have the right to reasonable notice of shifts, shift cancellations and changes to shifts (both the agency and end user will be responsible for this) and to proportionate payment when shifts are cancelled, curtailed, or moved at short notice (this will be the responsibility of the agency, although, they may be able to recoup such costs from an end user by agreement). There are new rules on how the zero hours rules can be amended by collective agreement. 
• The rules within which trade unions operate will be amended so that, among other things, changes will be made to strengthen protections against ‘unfair practices’ during the trade union recognition process, certain information requirements will be simplified for industrial action ballots and notices and a digital right of access to the workplace for collective bargaining purposes will be introduced. In addition, mandates for industrial action will be valid for 12, rather than six months. Amendments are made to the right for unions to request access to the workplace for union officials. Where an employer refuses or obstructs this right of access, penalty notices may be issued.
• Under the Bill, sick pay entitlement will be extended so that Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be paid from the first day of illness (rather than from the fourth day at present). The Bill also removes the lower earnings limit, but allows for low earners to be paid at less than the normal level of SSP. Under these new amendments, employees will have a right to sick pay of 80% of their average weekly earnings or the current rate of SSP, whichever is lower. 
• The amendments allow for umbrella companies to be regulated to ensure those working through umbrella companies will enjoy comparable rights and protections to those who are directly engaged by a recruitment agency. 
• The amendments provides the right to make regulations giving further protection for redundancy or dismissal during or after a protected period of pregnancy.