Labour can use its overhaul of workers’ rights to win over disaffected Tory and Reform voters, the TUC has said, as the government prepares to introduce landmark legislation that will grant new rights to 7 million workers.
Trade union leaders met ministers on Tuesday for final discussions on the employment rights bill before its announcement on Thursday.
Keir Starmer is expected to use the bill to reset the narrative on the new government’s achievements in office.
The TUC’s general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “Labour’s workers’ rights plans are hugely popular across the political spectrum – including with Tory and Reform voters. After 14 years of stagnating living standards, people desperately want secure jobs they can build a decent life on. The government’s plan to ‘make work pay’ – delivered in full – would improve incomes and the quality of work across Britain.
“It’s time to turn the page on the Tories’ low-rights, low-pay economy that has allowed good employers to be undercut by the bad. It’s time to make work pay again.”
The bill will be the most extensive overhaul of workers’ rights in generations, granting new rights on maternity leave and sick pay from day one of employment, banning zero-hours contracts apart from with a specific employee request, and ending fire-and-rehire practices.
It will include a review of parental leave, bereavement leave and new access to workplaces for trade unions to organise.
Polling for the TUC found widespread support for the extension of maternity rights, sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal, with two-thirds of respondents backing the end to fire and rehire and zero-hours contracts.
The bill was promised by Starmer within the first 100 days of a Labour government. It is expected to be the first step in a long process that will include extensive consultations.
Trade union leaders met the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, on Tuesday for their final talks before the bill is published. Union sources said they did not expect all unions to endorse the bill – some including Unite have expressed reservations about aspects including exemptions on zero-hours contracts. But most of the major unions are expected to welcome the bill on Thursday.
The bill will give new “day one” rights to 7 million workers – including maternity leave, which usually requires at least six months’ service, as well as sick pay, which currently people are not entitled to until the fourth day of their illness – with those who earn less than £123 a week ineligible to claim.
The legislation will also create a right to claim unfair dismissal from day one, which currently is not permitted until an employee has worked for two years.
Reynolds and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have been extensively lobbied by business over the plans. At the Labour conference, Reynolds told the Guardian that many of the fears businesses had over the plans were a misconception and that much of the new legislation would be common practice among ethical employers already.
Further changes to pay are also planned, including changing the remit of the Low Pay Commission so that it accounts for the cost of living, and removing age bands so all adults are entitled to the same minimum wage.
However, some rights that were initially promised when the policy was announced by Angela Rayner in opposition are likely to come in the form of guidance rather than legislation, including the right for employees to “switch off” and not answer emails after hours.
The legislation will also include rules for probation, giving employers six months to more easily end an employee’s contract for poor performance. However, it would not necessarily preclude action for unfair dismissal in certain circumstances.
