The Employment Rights Bill – it’s about to get real.

Whilst the long-awaited, much talked about - Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is currently passing back and forth between the Commons and the Lords, pending further amendments and recommendations, UK businesses are leaving nothing to chance.  Only last week, we were sitting with senior decision makers from one of our more complex partnership projects – running out various scenarios based on; 

i. Light touch 

ii. Heavy implementation of the Bill 

iii. and everything in between. 

The sentiment among many business leaders, owners, and investors is that they need to be proactive, understand the potential impact of the Bill, and take the necessary steps well in advance of its implementation. 

If, how and to what extent the Bill threatens to impact any given business will be determined by a few, but fundamental factors, including:  The ‘before state’ baseline of the business that falls within the scope of the ERB that may require either… 

 

Minor and nominal adaptations that are easy to plan and execute. 

OR

A time-consuming and dramatic shift in thinking, policy, strategy, culture and leadership.  

 

Regardless, the key is act now. 

Getting back to the real world meet last week – the agreed plan is as follows: 

My own take and analysis of the situation – for what it’s worth is as follows: 

The ERB is one of the cornerstones of the governments manifesto commitments – it also advocated for by high profile Labour Party’s grandees including Angela Rayner and Pete Kyle. When Kyle declared at the last Labour Party conference that the Bill; ‘would be implemented in full, with no delay’ – this serves not only to comfort the unions and party faithful – it potentially paints the government into a corner of its own making.  

‘Hope is not a strategy’ 

Tactically, smart businesses will be proactive – and think, decide and move quickly. Failure to do so, invites the Sword of Damocles to swing ever lower and sooner. 

It can be argued that the ERB – and the potential consequences of the ERB is a market correction that has long been coming down the pipe. Workers advocates would claim – with justification in some cases – that the UK needs to break its previous addiction to low pay, low-skilled, readily available, easy come/easy go labour. 

The winners in all of this will the more enlightened employers that invest wisely in their Employer Value Proposition, those that introduce new levels of rigour into assessment and selection, business’s that take a more creative approach to building capacity by creating gateways for under-represented groups – and the organisations that master the art of long term retention, whole of life professional development and the APEX of Engagement that is: 

So, what to do now? Cubed is better placed than many to help advise on and navigate through the 20+ reforms contained within the Bill. 

Our approach has always been that of collaboration, knowledge sharing and peer to peer advice and support.  

We arrange and facilitate peer group round tables, provide gap and impact assessment tools, share best practice and innovation, connect likeminded leaders and businesses to work together to tackle and adapt to ever changing landscapes. 

For more information and insights I can be contacted at: steve@cubedtalent.co.uk