A Win for Workers' Rights in the UK
Following hard fought campaigning by the trade union movement the UK government’s Employment Rights Bill has cleared the House of Lords after months of deadlock.
The new legislation will soon receive Royal Assent to strengthen workers’ rights including:
- Ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts
- Day-one sick pay for all workers starting April 2026
- Expanded parental and bereavement leave
- Stronger protections for pregnant women, whistleblowers, and victims of harassment
- Flexible working as the default
- Repeal of anti-union laws.
The Bill now enters a phase of consultations and secondary legislation in which PCS will participate to ensure full implementation without loopholes. It is essential that the Bill is implemented speedily so that workers feel the benefits as soon as possible.
While celebrating this milestone, PCS calls for a second Employment Rights Bill to go further:
- An immediate repeal of all anti-union laws
- A full ban on ‘fire and rehire’, enforceable by injunction
- A £15 per hour minimum wage with no age exemptions.
- A statutory right to collective bargaining for all workers and a legal mechanism for creating sector-wide collective bargaining
- Amending our labour laws to comply with international standards
- Universal employment rights, including for workers on working visas, through a single worker status
- All workers to be entitled to all employment rights from day one
- A full trade union right to access workers on employers’ premises, enforceable by injunction
- End restrictions on industrial action and introduce a positive right to strike, including the right to take solidarity action.
The Campaign for Trade Union Freedom (CTUF) and Strike Map have organised an online petition to demand an employment rights bill #2. Please sign it and share with your friends and colleagues.