Employment Rights Bill: Proposed Amendments

There have been a number of proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill by the House of Lords (published on the night of 7 July into the morning of 8 July 2025) which if adopted, could reshape the framework for workplace confidentiality, variation of contracts, protection for whistleblowers and the regulation of zero-hour contracts.

Some of these proposed amendments have Government backing (meaning they may be more likely to be adopted) and others don’t (meaning they are less likely to be adopted). A summary of the proposed amendments is as follows:

Ban on NDAs covering harassment and discrimination at work

Under the new proposals, any attempt to use a confidentiality clause (whether in an employment contract or settlement agreement) to prevent workers from making disclosures or allegations relating to harassment or discrimination will be void. This includes disclosures about the underlying conduct as well as how the employer responded.

The provision would apply to current and former employees and could, through future regulations, extend to contractors, interns, and others in non-standard roles (partners, volunteers, etc).

The aim of these changes likely stems from the #MeToo movement and follows many years of campaigning in seeking to prevent the systemic misuse of NDAs.

Interestingly, the new provisions exclude disclosures about a failure to make reasonable adjustments, which, if these provisions are introduced, can still be subject to confidentiality terms.

Any attempt to silence such disclosures will not only be unenforceable but may give rise to further litigation risks, particularly where workers feel they are being pressured into silence or feel strongly about the treatment they believe they have been subjected to. These provisions will likely require further reforms due to the omission of confirmation as to how these provisions would operate if the allegations are spurious, for example.

What this means for employers

Employers will need to review and revise their standard contracts and internal policies, and we would also recommend ensuring that equality and diversity training is up to date.

Fire and Rehire

There are several proposed amendments which will narrow the scope of the current proposed total ban on fire and rehire. If adopted, the prohibition will apply only to ‘restricted variations’, including pay, working hours, pensions, holiday entitlement, and other elements to be defined in future regulations. A separate amendment will exclude any minor variations not relating to those listed above.

One significant amendment removes the mandatory checklist that tribunals must consider when assessing fairness. Instead, if an employer demonstrates serious financial distress, the tribunal may provide some relief to employers facing genuine solvency risks.

The further amendments will also seemingly allow employers a defence to “fire and rehire” as a last resort if they can demonstrate that the change was essential to avert “calamitous financial distress” or the employer had observed a six-point consultation checklist.

This is one of the main changes that appeared on the Labour party’s manifesto in 2024 and has received wide Government backing, signalling a clear intention of the Government to proceed with these particular reforms.

Whistleblowing

Whilst the current proposals seek to add in disclosures about sexual harassment amounting to protected disclosures, the new proposals also seek to simplify the legislation wording and further expand the remit of such legislation to also include mismanagement of public funds, abuse of authority “or anything else set out in regulations” (which we do not have the benefit of seeing yet).

However, the new changes also mean that the disclosure must actually be in the public interest as opposed to the worker reasonably believing it to be in the public interest.

A new public body, the Office of the Whistleblower, will be created to set standards, act as a reporting channel, and issue redress and enforcement orders. Intentional or reckless victimisation of whistleblowers will be made a statutory offence, with potential penalties of up to 10% of global turnover.

Some organisations, particularly those with over 50 staff, turnover exceeding £10 million, or operating in the financial sector, will face a new duty to investigate protected disclosures.

It is worth noting that these particular amendments are not yet backed by the Government and so may be unlikely to pass.

Softening the Zero-Hour Contract Proposals

If amended, workers will no longer have the right to be offered guaranteed hours, but instead will have the right to request guaranteed hours (this removes the automatic duty on the employer to offer guaranteed hours). Employers will only have to consider requests, mirroring the current framework of flexible working requests, although the details on how this will work in practice have not yet been published.

Workers will need to have worked an average of at least eight hours in a rolling 26-week reference period, thus excluding very low-hour workers.

‘Short notice’ cancellation payments for withdrawn shifts will not be payable where the shift is cancelled at least 48 hours in advance.

Where agency workers request guaranteed hours at the ‘Host’ (the business using the agency), they may be able to request their (usually higher) agency rate within the guaranteed hours contract. Organisations would be well advised to regularly audit pay and be ready to provide objective justification where lower rates are offered.

Again, these proposed amendments have not been backed by the Government and so may be unlikely to pass.

Contact our employment law solicitors today

We will keep you updated as things progress within the new government. If you have any questions regarding any of the issues raised in this article, please do not hesitate to contact our specialist Employment Law team by using our online enquiry form or by calling 0330 191 5713.