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Your Members and the Employment Rights Bill

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Your Members and the Employment Rights Bill

The Employment Rights Bill is set to reshape the landscape of workplace rights across the UK, bringing in a host of new protections for employees and setting higher standards for employers. 

Members will be preparing for the changes, but the balance of impact will vary across different sized organisations. As an association representing a diverse membership that may comprise individuals, SMEs, start-ups and established companies, how do you advise and brief members, and make valuable, effective representations on their behalf?

As we begin what is to be a complex legislative process and implementation period, now is the time to establish your role and position as an association. 

Categorising Compliance, Codification, and Cultural Change

The provisions in the Employment Rights Bill fall into three categories, each with its own set of considerations:

  • Changes Members Will Notice Right Away: The ban on zero-hour contracts, immediate protection against unfair dismissal, and enhanced parental rights will all require immediate adjustments to workplace policies and practices.

  • Codification of Existing Practices: Some aspects of the bill codify practices that are already common in progressive workplaces, such as fair parental leave and anti-dismissal measures. Members who already follow these practices may find the transition easier.

  • Cultural Change through Legislation: Some measures aim to foster long-term cultural shifts. The ban on fire-and-rehire, for example, encourages businesses to seek alternative solutions to staffing needs rather than relying on cost-cutting measures that affect employee job security.

What could it mean for your association? 

These landmark changes is why associations need to position themselves as supporting members in their understanding of and advocacy around the employment rights bill, if possible.

Associations are advocates for their members. With this Bill, associations will also educate their members, particularly those from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on how to comply with the new requirements. For associations, this could mean expanding resources or developing new programs to support members in navigating these legislative shifts.

Associations may also need to assess how these changes could affect their own operations if they directly employ staff. In that case, they’ll need to consider compliance on an organisational level.

No position is an acceptable position 

It’s not often that it’s advisable to abstain from taking a position on an issue. But if you represent a diverse membership who will never unite on how to campaign on a pivotal piece of legislation, that is your message, that is what your stakeholders need to know. 

The Employment Rights Bill is set to reshape the landscape of workplace rights across the UK, bringing in a host of new protections for employees and setting higher standards for employers. 

Members will be preparing for the changes, but the balance of impact will vary across different sized organisations. As an association representing a diverse membership that may comprise individuals, SMEs, start-ups and established companies, how do you advise and brief members, and make valuable, effective representations on their behalf?

As we begin what is to be a complex legislative process and implementation period, now is the time to establish your role and position as an association. 

Categorising Compliance, Codification, and Cultural Change

The provisions in the Employment Rights Bill fall into three categories, each with its own set of considerations:

  • Changes Members Will Notice Right Away: The ban on zero-hour contracts, immediate protection against unfair dismissal, and enhanced parental rights will all require immediate adjustments to workplace policies and practices.

  • Codification of Existing Practices: Some aspects of the bill codify practices that are already common in progressive workplaces, such as fair parental leave and anti-dismissal measures. Members who already follow these practices may find the transition easier.

  • Cultural Change through Legislation: Some measures aim to foster long-term cultural shifts. The ban on fire-and-rehire, for example, encourages businesses to seek alternative solutions to staffing needs rather than relying on cost-cutting measures that affect employee job security.

What could it mean for your association? 

These landmark changes is why associations need to position themselves as supporting members in their understanding of and advocacy around the employment rights bill, if possible.

Associations are advocates for their members. With this Bill, associations will also educate their members, particularly those from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on how to comply with the new requirements. For associations, this could mean expanding resources or developing new programs to support members in navigating these legislative shifts.

Associations may also need to assess how these changes could affect their own operations if they directly employ staff. In that case, they’ll need to consider compliance on an organisational level.

No position is an acceptable position 

It’s not often that it’s advisable to abstain from taking a position on an issue. But if you represent a diverse membership who will never unite on how to campaign on a pivotal piece of legislation, that is your message, that is what your stakeholders need to know.