Message from our Vice President, Lord John Hendy KC, following the passage of the Employment Rights Act

The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers notes the passing of the Employment Rights Act, following Royal Assent, and commends the work of our Vice President, Lord John Hendy KC, who played a leading role in its development.

As a long-standing advocate for workers’ rights and collective labour protections, John’s contribution has been instrumental in shaping the legislation and advancing the wider debate on employment law reform and the rights of trade unions.

Commenting on the significance and limitations of the Act, John Hendy states:

“There is no doubt that the new Act will benefit many workers. And the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act and most of the Trade Union Act 2016 is a real step forward.

But the Bill is only a shadow of Labour’s original plan set out in A New Deal for Working People. In particular, the failure to address a single legal status for workers will only encourage employers to seek to recategorise workers to avoid giving them the new (and existing) rights.

The Act also missed the opportunity to enact a statutory process for sectoral collective bargaining across the economy. And the New Deal demanded that industrial action law conformed to the international obligations ratified by and binding on the UK. The Act does not do that.

Furthermore, the Act largely relies on individual litigation for enforcement but the average wait for a tribunal hearing is just under one year, awards are generally low and one third are never paid.

A second Act will be needed to finish the job.”

The Haldane Society recognises the passage of the Act as a practical step forward for working people, while reaffirming the need for continued legal and political work to secure a genuinely transformative framework for labour rights in the UK.