Overview
- At the CBI conference, Business Secretary Peter Kyle pledged to 'do what it takes' to pass the Employment Rights Bill and then run 26 consultations to shape implementation.
- Kemi Badenoch branded the package 'anti-growth' and urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to drop it at the Budget, vowing a future Conservative government would repeal it.
- The government’s impact assessment puts annual employer costs near £5bn and the OBR has flagged a net negative effect on the public finances.
- CBI leaders said eight in ten firms expect hiring to become harder under the current plan, while chair Rupert Soames called the bill damaging and incoherent with ministers’ deregulatory aims.
- The bill remains in Lords–Commons 'ping-pong' over measures such as day-one unfair dismissal rights and zero-hours reforms, with initial elements due from April and further changes expected in 2027.