Britain’s new Labour government has unveiled a slew of new rights for workers, including more generous rules for sick pay and parental leave and major restrictions on certain precarious employment practices such as zero-hour contracts and fire and rehire. The Employment Rights Bill, published Thursday around 100 days since Labour took power for the first time in 14 years following its crushing victory over the Conservative Party in the general election, has been described by ministers as the biggest overhaul of workers’ rights for a generation. The 28 measures have been broadly welcomed by unions and lobby groups representing businesses, though one described it as “clumsy, chaotic and poorly planned.”
