Employment Rights Bill: Parliamentary Ping-Pong

Employment Rights Bill: Parliamentary Ping-Pong | Friday 5 December 2025 | 3 min read

On 28 October 2025, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) returned to the House of Lords, where the Lords considered the reasons given by the House of Commons for rejecting all non-government amendments previously passed by the Lords at the Report Stage.

The Lords debated  further amendments in lieu, proposed by members of the Lords and the government, and voted in favour of several significant amendments, including:

• A six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal
• A right for workers to opt out of receiving guaranteed hours contract offers
• The inclusion of a definition of seasonal work in Part 1 of the ERB

Other amendments passed by the Lords included reinstating the requirement for trade unions to opt their members out of contributions to political funds, and the 50% turnout threshold for an industrial action ballot.

Several government amendments were also agreed upon. These included extending the definition of discrimination in the non-disclosure agreement provisions and requiring the Secretary of State to review the circumstances in which employers must allow employees time off for public duties.

On 5 November 2025, the Bill returned to the House of Commons for consideration of the Lords’ amendments. The Commons voted against significant Lords’ amendments, including the six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal and the right for workers to opt out of receiving guaranteed hours contract offers. The Commons voted through amendments in lieu, including:

• A statutory duty for the government to consult on key aspects of the unfair dismissal framework
• A trade union member’s opt-out notice from contributions to political funds will have effect from either 1 January of the year after it has been provided, or on a date determined in the union’s rules, whichever comes first
• The government will have a statutory duty to have regard to any effects of electronic balloting on the proportion of those entitled to vote who actually do so

The government also announced that it would establish a taskforce to address pressures on the employment tribunal system, although no timeframe was given .

On 17 November 2025, the ERB returned to the House of Lords, where the Lords voted by a significant majority to disagree with the Commons and insisted on their own amendments, including the six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal. This is the third time that the Lords have rejected the government’s proposal for day-one unfair dismissal rights. The Lords voted against the government in relation to guaranteed hours contracts, the definition of seasonal work, the industrial action turnout threshold and contribution to political funds.

The parliamentary ping-pong is set to continue with the ERB returning to the House of Commons for reconsideration of the outstanding issues.