Conservatives pledge to dismantle Employment Rights Bill

Conservatives pledge to dismantle Employment Rights Bill

For the first time, the Conservatives are today [26^th June 2025] pledging to dismantle Labour's controversial Employment Rights Bill.

The Conservatives' Shadow Business Secretary, Andrew Griffith MP, makes the commitment in a landmark speech at the Prosperity Institute.

Setting the tone for a future Conservative Government, he will repeal the parts of the Bill which “hand enormous power to trade unions who grind our economy to a halt”. They will seek guidance from business leaders on dismantling the rest of the bill. “The work to once again make the Conservative Party the party of business begins today” he will add.

The Government's own calculations say it will cost British businesses £5 billion a year and 50,000 jobs. Measures in the legislation, dubbed the “unemployment bill”, include:

• Shorter notice for strikes, hampering businesses' ability to prepare and organise cover.
• Far lower thresholds before a business is forced to enter collective bargaining, potentially when such as request is supported by as few as one employee in fifty.
• A trade union ‘right to roam' in private business premises, company IT systems – potentially including Teams or WhatsApp chats – and dictate that firms gather their employees for a recruitment meeting even when not a single employee has requested this.
• ‘Swipe to strike' electronic industrial action balloting with fewer controls on the conduct of strike ballot and more potential intimidation.
• Creating a new government funded enforcement quango called the ‘Fair Work Agency' that will be able to pro-actively bring expensive and attention seeking cases against firms even where no employee has raised a complaint

He has also committed to setting up a “backing business advisory board”. This will help shape business policy for a future Conservative government. He will say:

“In a complete inversion of the Labour cabinet, everyone on it will have worked in or set up a business.  With their guidance we will finally wield the scythe against the red tape that holds businesses back and makes us all poorer.”

Today he also set the ball rolling on an offer to wealth creators, who have been leaving Britain in their droves since Labour took office. He will say:

“The Conservatives will draw up a genuinely world-beating offer for wealth creators. We know that you don't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer. We will not only undo the damage Labour is doing now, we will put forward a plan that makes this country the best in the world to invest and build wealth.”

Rounding off his offer to Britain's businesses, he will say: “The work to once again make the Conservative Party the party of business begins today.  There is no way back to government without this. It won't be easy, and it will not be done with sugar rush or press release politics. Instead, we will do the hard work needed to be worthy of your trust. We will take a relentless and serious-minded focus on how to remove regulations that impede growth, especially the heavy cost of compliance.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• Trade unions donated over £31.3 million to the Labour Party over the course of the last Parliament. Between 14 December 2019 and 4 July 2024, trade unions donated £31,314,589 to the Labour Party.^[1]

• 90 per cent of the Cabinet has hired staff using work practices that Labour now wants to ban. 90 per cent of the Cabinet have recruited for their Parliamentary offices using fixed-term contracts, long probation periods or requiring work outside of usual working hours.^[5]
• Angela Rayner has admitted that she wants to repeal trade union legislation dating back to the 1980s, turning Britain back to legislation created in the 1970s. Labour will set Britain back to the 1970s by repealing union legislation created in the 1980s and under the Conservative and coalition governments.^[6]

• The Attorney General said powers such as Henry VIII powers were a ‘strike at the rule of law' despite their inclusion in this Bill. The Attorney General said that skeleton legislation, delegated powers and Henry VIII legislation ‘not only strikes at the rule of law … but also at the cardinal principles of accessibility and legal certainty' despite the inclusion of such powers in the Employment Rights Bill.^[7]

The Bill:

• Unleashes waves of low threshold, zero warning strikes, by reducing the notice period for strikes and making it easy for unions to be imposed on workers. Labour are giving new powers allowing trade unions unleashing waves of low threshold, limited warning strikes by repealing the Trade Union Act, cutting thresholds for union recognition and requiring fewer people to vote for strike action, which the government has admitted could increase strikes by up to 35 per cent.^[8]

• Contains powers which the Attorney General said were a ‘strike at the rule of law', such as Henry VIII powers. The Attorney General said that skeleton legislation, delegated powers and Henry VIII legislation ‘not only strikes at the rule of law … but also at the cardinal principles of accessibility and legal certainty' despite the inclusion of such powers in the Employment Rights Bill.^[9]

• Despite 66 per cent of consultation respondents wanting to keep the 6-month strike mandate, Labour are increasing it to 12 months anyway. Of respondents to the Department for Business and Trade's consultation on ‘creating a modern framework for industrial relations', 66 per cent of those who answered on trade union mandates stated they wanted to retain the six-month mandate for strike action compared to 27 per cent who wanted to increase it 12 months of longer.^[10]

• Despite 59 per cent of consultation respondents asking for more information or opposing the right for unions to access, Labour are pressing ahead with plans anyway. Of respondents to the Department for Business and Trade's consultation on ‘creating a modern framework for industrial relations', 59 per cent of those who answered wanted either more information of disagreed with the proposal of allowing the CAC to enforce access agreements, the government are doing it anyway, and providing ‘digital access'.

• Despite 55 per cent of respondents agreeing that trade unions should remind members every 10 years of their contributions to unions political funds, Labour are ending the requirement for a reminder. Of respondents to the Department for Business and Trade's consultation on ‘creating a modern framework for industrial relations', 55 per cent of those who answered agreed that trade union members should be reminded every ten year of their contributes to the political fund,

• Despite 53 per cent of consultation respondents agreeing that trade unions should ballot every ten years on political funds, Labour are scrapping the requirement for ballots anyway. Of respondents to the Department for Business and Trade's consultation on ‘creating a modern framework for industrial relations', 53 per cent of those who answered wanted trade unions to continue balloting every ten years on the existence of their political fund. Despite the support, the government is scrapping the need for the ballot.

• Despite 48 per cent of consultation respondents disagreeing with the proposal to simplify the information that unions provide to employers, Labour are simplifying it anyway. Of respondents to the Department for Business and Trade's consultation on ‘creating a modern framework for industrial relations', 48 per cent of those who answered disagreed with Labour's plan to simplify the information provided to employers, but Labour are doing it anyway.

• Despite 58 per cent of consultation respondents supporting retaining the 14-day period for notice of industrial action, Labour are shortening it to 10 days. Of respondents to the Department for Business and Trade's consultation on ‘creating a modern framework for industrial relations', 58 per cent of businesses wanted the 14 day requirement for strike action maintained with 7 per cent wanting a period greater than 21 days. However, Labour have ignored the consultation and are reducing the notice period to 10 days.

• Is a rushed job, with the impact assessment mentioning uncertainty 302 times with Justin Madders admitting that ‘not every element of policy was ready'. The impact assessment for the Employment Rights Bill mentions ‘uncertain' and ‘uncertainty' 302 times and the words ‘risk' and ‘risky' 432 times. Justin Madders said: ‘He will be aware that it was a manifesto commitment to introduce the Bill within 100 days, which we are very pleased to have been able to adhere to, but that meant that not every element of policy was ready'.^[11]

• Cost businesses £5 billion, according to an impact assessment by the Department for Business and Trade. The Department for Business and Trade's impact assessment of the Employment Rights Bill said: ‘Our assessment that the costs to business will be in the low billions (between £0.9 billion and £5 billion) per year is based on a cautious assessment of the range of likely costs. We expect this figure to be refined as policy development continues and our evidence base improves'.^[12]

[1] Conservative Research Department Analysis, 19 December 2024, available on request, Electoral Commission, accessed 19 December 2024, link.

[2] Conservative Research Department Analysis, 11 October 2024, available on request.

[3] Conservative Research Department Analysis, 29 January 2025, available on request.

[4] LabourList, 21 August 2024, link.

[5] Guido Fawkes, 11 October 2024, link.

[6] Manchester TUC, YouTube, 8 December 2014, link.

[7] Attorney General's Office, Press Release, 15 October 2024, link.

[8] UK Parliament, Employment Rights Bill, accessed 4 March 2025, link; UK Parliament, Employment Rights Bill, 11 October 2024, link.

[9] Attorney General's Office, Press Release, 15 October 2024, link.

[10] DBT, Government Response: Creating a modern framework for industrial relations, 4 March 2025, link.

[11] Conservative Research Department Analysis, 21 October 2024, available on request; DBT, Guidance, 21 October 2024, link; Hansard, Public Bill Committee, Employment Rights Bill, 5 December 2024, link.

[12] DBT, Economic Analysis, 4 March 2025, link.