United Kingdom: Employment Rights Bill – ping pong continues

In brief

Yesterday (17 November 2025), the House of Lords again voted against the government on five key issues in the Employment Rights Bill: (i) whether protection from unfair dismissal should be a day-one right; (ii) opt-out options for workers from the proposed Guaranteed Hours Offers (GHOs) regime; (iii) special provisions for seasonal workers in relation to GHOs; (iv) maintaining a 50% turnout threshold for industrial action ballots; (v) continuing opt-in rules for trade union political funds contributions. Only a minor issue about heritage railways has been resolved. For more information, see our previous updates Push-back on day-one unfair dismissal rights and other Employment Rights Bill developments (29 October 2025) and House of Commons insists on day-one unfair dismissal rights (6 November 2025). 

The Bill will again return to the House of Commons for further consideration. It looks increasingly likely that parts of the government’s implementation Roadmap for the Bill will be delayed.