The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA), a group of 7,000 lawyers, has warned Parliament that the proposed Employment Bill requires "considerable thought" to avoid burdening businesses with costs or obligations that could "confuse even senior and experienced lawyers."
In written evidence submitted to the Committee overseeing the Employment Rights Bill, the ELA urged the government to reconsider some of the changes outlined in the bill, as reported by .
The association expressed concerns that the alterations to zero-hour contracts "will grant workers rights that are so difficult to navigate that this may well impact their ability to be enforced" while also imposing challenging "recurring burdens on employers".
Labour's employment overhaul, which was unveiled in October, includes 28 individual measures such as ending exploitative zero-hour contracts and prohibiting fire and rehire tactics. A report published in the same month detailed each measure and its associated costs.
It is estimated that ending zero-hour contracts could cost up to £1bn a year, while reforms to day-one employment rights could result in approximately £100m a year in new business costs. The total cost predicted for British businesses due to this legislation is around £5bn.
The ELA cautioned the political Committee: "It is fanciful to think that a non-unionised low paid zero hour worker will issue proceedings for breaches for small sums that will not reach Tribunals for many months or even years."
The organisation commented: "If these regulations are to work, then the enforcement provisions should be opened up to the Fair Work Agency and not simply rely on low-paid workers to enforce their rights."
The legal specialists pointed out that the phrasing of the fire and rehire policy "means that businesses that previously survived may now not be able to act until it is too late and then go under."
The ELA cautioned MPs that the introduction of these new rights could result in a surge of "further claims," potentially overwhelming the Employment Tribunals. .
The consortium alerted the government to the fact that, as of June 2024, there were a staggering 668,000 Employment Tribunal claims still pending, noting that the caseload had grown by 4% over the past year.
Caspar Glyn KC, Chair of ELA, communicated to City AM: "In April of this year the Tribunals were reporting that most short cases could be held in 4-8 months but in four Tribunal Centres. However, cases that took 3-5 days’ of Tribunal Time were taking about a year in most Tribunals and even longer in one London Tribunal."
Furthermore, the group declared: "The Tribunal cannot deal with the work that it has," It also pointed out the prohibitive costs involved, stating "lawyers are expensive both for workers and for businesses". .
The ELA emphasised: "The transactional cost of enforcing rights is often not worth the expense of doing so. A net £70 for a cancelled shift? Who is going to bother enforcing that? ".
The Committee, comprising of Sir Ashley Fox MP and Dame Nia Griffith MP, is set to convene on Thursday for further deliberation on the Bill.
