UK Inquiry Tracker

Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill

Business and Trade Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 29 Apr 2026 Parliament page

The newly re-formed Business and Trade Committee is launching its first call for evidence on the Government’s new flagship Employment Rights Bill . The new Government has announced a comprehensive overhaul of employment law in what it is calling the ‘biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.’ The ‘Plan … Read more The newly re-formed Business and Trade Committee is launching its first call for evidence on the Government’s new flagship Employment Rights Bill . The new Government has announced a comprehensive overhaul of employment law in what it is calling the ‘biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.’ The ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ sets out the Government’s agenda to boost wages, reduce insecure work and grow Britain’s economy. The wide-ranging Bill currently passing through Parliament (you can track its progress here ) sets out to: Ban exploitative zero-hours contracts End ‘Fire and Rehire’ and ‘Fire and Replace’ Make parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal a day one right Strengthen statutory sick pay Make flexible working the default from day one Strengthen protections for pregnant women and new mothers returning to work Strengthen protections from sexual harassment at work Strengthen legislation around the allocation of tips Strengthen protections around collective redundancy Introduce a new right to bereavement leave Establish a new Single Enforcement Body, called the Fair Work Agency Establish Fair Pay Agreements in the adult social care sector Reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body Upgrade Trade Union legislation The Committee is launching this inquiry, which will take written and oral evidence with a view to informing the later stages of the Bill’s passage through Parliament, to help assess whether it will achieve these aims. Areas to consider include: How the Bill will contribute to the Government’s stated goal of achieving the fastest growth in the G7. Whether the Employment Rights Bill will adequately protect workers, improve security at work and raise living standards in every part of the country. The impact the Bill will have on businesses, in particular investment rates, start-up rates, the supply of labour and the employment rate. How to ensure adequate protection against exporting poor labour standards, including concerns over forced labour in international supply chains. Show less

16 Recommendations

5 Conclusions

1 Report

3 Oral sessions

40 Letters

3 Events

Activity timeline 48 events

22 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Non-Disclosure Agreements Consultation, 15 April 2026

15 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Trade Union access consultation and call for evidenc…

11 Mar
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Government response to the unpaid internships call f…

11 Mar
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to further February consultation package for the Employment…

11 Feb
2026

Correspondence

Letter to the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Employment Rights Act consultation and implementation …

11 Feb
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to implementing the Employment Rights Act, 3 February 2026

26 Nov
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Employments Rights Bill consultation on Electronic a…

4 Nov
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to Employment Rights Bill October Consultation Package, 23 …

16 Sep
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Secretary of State relating to the Employments Rights Bill, 15 September 2025

8 Sep
2025

Correspondence

Letter to the Secretary of State relating to the Employment Rights Bill, 8 September 2025

17 Jul
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Financial Conduct Authority relating to Shein and the Integrity of the UK Listing Regime, 11 July 2025

10 Jul
2025

Correspondence

Letter to the Financial Conduct Authority relating to Shein and the UK listing regime, 10 July 2025

Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions

14 Jan 2025

View on parliament.uk

Alessandro Dudech · Uniqlo Andy Brown · Frasers Group Hugo Martin · Evri Mr Paddy Lillis · Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) Neil Carberry · Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Paul Bedford · Deliveroo

7 Jan 2025

View on parliament.uk

Alistair Macrow · McDonalds, UK and Ireland Andrew Opie · The British Retail Consortium Claire Lorains · Tesco Eleanor Lyons Leonard Klenner · Temu Margaret Beels OBE · Department for Business and Trade Stephen Heary · Temu Yinan Zhu · SHEIN

17 Dec 2024

View on parliament.uk

Amanda Gearing · GMB Union Ben Willmott · Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Beverley Fairbank · Jaguar Land Rover Dominic Johnson · BAE Systems Jennifer Kearney · Amazon UK and Ireland Matthew Percival · Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Murray Paul · Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Nicola Smith · Trades Union Congress (TUC) Stuart Morgan · Amazon Logistics

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill	HC 370	3 Mar 2025	21	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

7 results

1 Recommendation Accepted

3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employ…

Define reference periods for the right to guaranteed hours in regulations.

Without a reference period defined in primary legislation, there is a lack of certainty among workers, trade unions and businesses as to how the right to guaranteed hours will work in practice. To ensure certainty, the Government should define as … Read more

Government Response

The government has announced that the initial reference period for the right to guaranteed hours will be 12 weeks and intends to consult on the length of subsequent reference periods before making secondary legislation to provide clarity.

Department for Business and Trade

View details

3 Conclusion Accepted

3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employ…

Long-term agency work impacts security and risks zero-hours contract side-stepping.

While the Committee understands that certain workers like the flexibility that comes with agency work and that it can be used as a legitimate short- term employment tool for many businesses, we are concerned about the impact long-term agency work … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees that agency workers should have certainty of hours and has brought forward amendments to the Employment Rights Bill to expand provisions for zero-hour measures to agency workers, with further regulations to be developed after consultation.

Department for Business and Trade

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4 Recommendation Accepted

3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employ…

Use delegated powers to enhance protections for agency workers through zero-hours contract reform.

The Committee therefore urges the Government to use the delegated powers provided by the Bill to reform zero-hours contracts to enhance protections for agency workers as soon as possible. These reforms 36 should not be at the expense of the … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees to extend contract certainty to agency workers to prevent them from becoming a loophole in zero-hours contract reforms, having already brought forward amendments to the Employment Rights Bill and committing to consult on further detailed regulations.

Department for Business and Trade

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7 Recommendation Accepted

3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employ…

Publish plans to regulate the umbrella company market and tackle non-compliance.

While compliant umbrella companies can have many benefits to workers, there have been longstanding concerns across governments that the lack of regulation in the umbrella company market can lead to exploitative working practices. The evidence is overwhelming of the need … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees timely action is needed to regulate umbrella companies, has set out plans in response to a 2023 consultation, introduced an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill, and committed to consult on a bespoke regulatory framework.

Department for Business and Trade

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11 Recommendation Accepted

3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employ…

Expand the Bill's definition of 'Access' to explicitly include a union's right to digital access.

More should be done to ensure that the new right of union access proposed in the Bill is protected against future changes to ways of working and the risk of non-compliance. We recommend that the Bill’s proposed definition of ‘Access’ … Read more

Government Response

The government accepted the recommendation and has already amended the Employment Rights Bill to expand access rights to include digital access, also legislating against refusing physical access solely due to digital access, with further details to be outlined in secondary legislation after consultation.

Department for Business and Trade

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20 Conclusion Accepted

3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employ…

Creation of Fair Work Agency must not dilute existing enforcement powers

It is crucial that the creation of the Fair Work Agency does not result in a dilution of the powers currently held by the three existing enforcement bodies. (Conclusion, Paragraph 98)

Government Response

The government asserts that the Fair Work Agency will not dilute existing powers but will inherit the full suite of investigatory powers from existing bodies and expand their reach, with the Employment Rights Bill upgrading enforcement and filling gaps in GLAA's remit.

Department for Business and Trade

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21 Recommendation Accepted

3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employ…

Ensure Fair Work Agency has powers and resources to investigate labour exploitation

The Government must ensure that the Fair Work Agency has the necessary powers to deter non-compliance. It must have the authority to investigate all forms of labour exploitation, up to and including modern slavery, and be adequately resourced to fulfil … Read more

Government Response

The government states the Fair Work Agency will inherit and expand upon existing powers, including the ability to issue special warnings and enforce certain Fraud Act offences, thus strengthening its capacity to investigate a wider range of serious labour exploitation cases.

Department for Business and Trade

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 21 of 16 classified

Accepted 7

Accepted in Part 3

Acknowledged 4

Deferred 4

Rejected 3

Total 16 recs + 5 conclusions

Correspondence 40 letters

22 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Non-Disclosure Agreements Consultation, 15 April 2026

Parliament page

15 Apr 2026 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Trade Union access consultation and call for evidence on TUPE, 8 April 2026

Parliament page

11 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Government response to the unpaid internships call for evidence, 27 February 2026

Parliament page

11 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to further February consultation package for the Employment Rights Act, 26 February 2026

Parliament page

11 Feb 2026 From committee Letter to the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Employment Rights Act consultation and implementation timeline, 22 January 2026

Parliament page

11 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to implementing the Employment Rights Act, 3 February 2026

Parliament page

26 Nov 2025 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to the Employments Rights Bill consultation on Electronic and Workplace Balloting, 19 November 2025

Parliament page

4 Nov 2025 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection relating to Employment Rights Bill October Consultation Package, 23 October 2025

Parliament page

16 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Secretary of State relating to the Employments Rights Bill, 15 September 2025

Parliament page

8 Sep 2025 From committee Letter to the Secretary of State relating to the Employment Rights Bill, 8 September 2025

Parliament page

17 Jul 2025 To committee Letter from the Financial Conduct Authority relating to Shein and the Integrity of the UK Listing Regime, 11 July 2025

Parliament page

10 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to the Financial Conduct Authority relating to Shein and the UK listing regime, 10 July 2025

Parliament page

3 Jun 2025 To committee Letter from the Secretary of State relating to the Modern Slavery Act, 19 May 2025

Parliament page

29 Apr 2025 From committee Letter to the Secretary of State relating to the consistent application of forced labour bans across Government, 25 April 2025

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22 Apr 2025 To committee Letter from the GMB Union relating to the ongoing dispute with Bidfood, 14 April 2025

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27 Mar 2025 To committee Letter from Amazon relating to evidence given to the Committee, 27 January 2025

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18 Mar 2025 To committee Letter from Evri relating to issues raised by the Committee, 5 March 2025

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18 Mar 2025 To committee Letter from Domestic Angels Franchising Limited relating to the Committee’s third report in to the Employment Rights Bill, 7 March 2025

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4 Mar 2025 From committee Letter to Hugo Martin of Evri relating to allegations made to the Committee by Evri couriers, 27 February 2025

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25 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from SHEIN relating to additional information requested by the Committee, 7 February 2025

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25 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from Tesco relating to the onboarding process of a garment factory located in Mae Sot, Thailand, 11 February 2025

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25 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from the Chief Executive of FCA relating to questions asked of the listing process, 17 February 2025

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11 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from Deliveroo relating to their appearance before the Committee, 30 January 2025

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4 Feb 2025 From committee Letter to UNIQLO relating to their appearance at the oral evidence session on 14 January, 21 January 2025

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4 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from the Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets relating to the Employment Rights Bill, 29 January 2025

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4 Feb 2025 To committee Letter from UNIQLO relating to outstanding questions after the oral evidence session on 14 Janaury, 23 January 2025

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27 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to Shein regarding materials, products and working conditions in their supply chain, 27 January 2025

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27 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to the Financial Conduct Authority relating to further questions around the listing process, 27 January 2025

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24 Jan 2025 To committee Letter from the Financial Conduct Authority relating to their role in listings and legal checks, 17 January 2025

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24 Jan 2025 To committee Letter from the CEO of the London Stock Exchange relating to listing companies, 17 January 2025

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24 Jan 2025 To committee Letter from Shein in response to the Committee’s follow up questions, 20 January 2025

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21 Jan 2025 To committee Letter from Health and Safety Executive relating to Amazon's requirements under RIDDOR, 10 January 2025

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21 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to the Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets relating to ERB, 17 January 2025

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13 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to Shein regarding their appearance before the Committee in the evidence session on 7 January, 10 January 2025

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13 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to McDonald's regarding their appearance before the Committee in the evidence session on 7 January, 10 January 2025

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10 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to the Financial Conduct Authority regarding Shein's evidence to the Committee on 7 January, 9 January 2025

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10 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to the London Stock Exchange regarding Shein's evidence to the Committee on 7 January, 9 January 2025

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10 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to Amazon regarding their appearance before the Committee at the evidence session on 17 December, 20 December 2024

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7 Jan 2025 From committee Letter to the Health and Safety Executive relating to data issues surrounding Amazon UK, 20 December 2024

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7 Jan 2025 To committee Letter from Leigh Day to the Business and Trade Committee, 3 January 2025

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