City AM quotes Dan Pollard on a number of amendments to the Employment Rights Bill being rejected by the House of Lords
On 28 October 2025, The Employment Rights Bill failed to clear the final hurdle, as the House of Lords 'ping-ponged' it back to MPs for further debate over disputed points, including the controversial granting of ‘day one’ rights.
The highly contested Bill, which was a significant part of Labour’s manifesto, will see a major overhaul in the UK’s employment laws. It is currently in the final stage of the legislative route; however, the House of Lords has pushed back on several key points, including day-one rights, and forced it back to the Commons.
In the sitting, the Lords voted 302 to 159 to send their amendments to the zero-hour contract proposals back to the Commons, along with their amendments on day one unfair dismissal rights (301 to 153), and the Lords rejected the proposed lower thresholds required for industrial action by trade unions by 267 to 153.
Commenting on the developments, Dan Pollard, Partner in our Employment team, comments for City AM. He argues:
The solution here is staring the Government in the face. Why not give employees day one rights but allow employers to include a probationary period for up to 6 months?
"This reflects what many employers do in practice already. It also protects those employees who are hired from secure employment and allows them day-one rights if they do not agree to probation. This is consistent with the Labour Manifesto commitment and would likely strike a sensible compromise.
Read the full article in City AM here.
