Employment Rights Bill: Commons Rejects Key Lords Amendments and Next Steps

By Iain Birrell, Member, Trade Union Law Group,  Sanjana Hossain, Employment Rights Lawyer & Jo Seery, Professional Support Lawyer.

A series of non-government amendments were made by the House of Lords during the Report Stage shortly before parliamentary recesss on 14 July 2025.

These included provisions to have a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal, replace a right to be offered guaranteed hours into a right to request, define short-notice shift cancellations as under 48 hours, and strengthen protections for whistleblowers. They also included a proposal for employees to be accompanied at hearings by a certified professional companion, as well as the retention of the 50% turnout threshold in an industrial action ballot. 

On 15 September, the House of Commons rejected these amendments. 

What Happens Next? 

The Bill now returns to the House of Lords to consider the governments reasons for their rejection. These include that: 

• it is appropriate for protection from unfair dismissal to apply from day one in employment; 

• it is appropriate for workers who meet the qualifying criteria to receive a guaranteed hours offer; 

• defining short notice for cancelling shifts to 48 hours would pre-empt consultation and limit the governments discretion; 

• permitting a “certified professional companion” to accompany employees at disciplinary and grievance hearings the right to be accompanied would increase the cost and complexity of such hearings 

• it was appropriate to remove the 50% turnout threshold   

At the time of publishing no date was set for consideration of the House of Commons reasons. 

Importance for Union Reps 

The removal of amendments which would weaken workers rights reaffirms the importance of ongoing scrutiny and union campaigning to ensure that future employment law reforms reflect the needs of workers. Union reps should continue to monitor the ERB’s progress.  We will continue to publish updates as the Bill progresses towards Royal assent.