Debate contribution: 'Good Jobs' Employment Rights Bill

Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on 28 April 2025.

MLA

Dr Caoimhe Archibald

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

28 April 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

'Good Jobs' Employment Rights Bill

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4913856

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

It is fitting that I make the statement on Workers' Memorial Day. Everyone benefits from good jobs. A decent, reliable wage benefits workers and their families. The flexibility to balance a career with family life means that more people can stay in work, giving employers access to a larger pool of people. More people working in better-paid jobs reduces poverty and its associated societal problems, which benefits communities as well as the public finances. That is why creating good jobs is one of the key objectives in the Executive's Programme for Government (PFG). My Department's 'good jobs' agenda involves supporting businesses to become more productive so that they are in a better position to offer good jobs. It involves building our skills base so that more people are equipped to take up those jobs. It also involves strengthening employment legislation. Last July, my predecessor, Conor Murphy, launched a consultation on a Bill to promote good jobs. The consultation ran for 13 weeks. Responses were received from 25 industry representative bodies that have a combined local membership of over 18,000 individuals and businesses. Submissions were received from 19 trade union bodies that, together, have a membership of around 375,000 workers. The NUS-USI, which represents over 130,000 students and apprentices in the North of Ireland, also provided its views. Since the consultation closed on 30 September, my Department has been carefully considering the feedback. Today, I am outlining an employment Bill that will be supported by secondary legislation, statutory codes of practice and guidance. My proposed Bill contains four themes, the first of which is terms of employment. Zero-hours contracts that provide workers with no guaranteed hours do not provide a good basis for a stable income. They should be used only for work that is genuinely casual or seasonal. Under my Bill, people on a zero-hours contract will have the right to move to a banded-hours contract that reflects their average working hours. Workers on a zero-hours contract will also have the right to reasonable notice of shifts and the right to compensation if shifts are cancelled or curtailed at short notice. That package of measures will bring to an end exploitative zero-hours contracts for people who work regular hours. Such contracts will be permissible only where work is genuinely seasonal or casual. Under the current law, workers are not entitled to the same rights as employees. That distinction does not apply in many other European economies. However, due to its interaction with the tax system, the Executive cannot by themselves bring an end to that categorisation. I therefore propose to work with the British Government to end that unhelpful and unnecessary distinction. In the meantime, the Executive can address the fact that only employees are entitled to a written statement of particulars setting out their terms of employment. My proposed Bill extends that right to workers and ensures that that information is available to everyone. It will also be provided from the first day of employment rather than within two months, as is currently the case. My proposed Bill will also tackle the unscrupulous practice of a perfectly solvent business firing workers and rehiring them on less favourable terms. The practice known as "fire and rehire" will be permissible only when the business can show that it is not viable and the alternative is a loss of jobs. The legislation will also strengthen the obligations on employers to ensure compliance with formal notification procedures when making collective redundancies and ensure that those responsibilities apply to companies employing people who work at sea. Under this theme, I also propose better protection for agency workers. Agency workers will be provided with clear information on the terms of their work assignment, such as the name of the company that is employing them, the rate of pay they will receive, payment dates and intervals and holiday entitlement. The loophole known as the "Swedish derogation", which permits agency workers to receive less pay than their permanent counterparts even after 12 weeks in the job, will be abolished. The enforcement and information-sharing powers available to my Department's Employment Agency Inspectorate will be strengthened. The next theme is pay and benefits. The emergence of new technologies has meant that the lines between work and home life have become increasingly blurred. While workers need to be able to switch off from work, there may be a need for businesses to have flexibility, for example, to deliver services to international clients in different time zones. More clarity is needed in that area to help workers and employers navigate the challenges. I therefore propose to introduce a statutory code of practice on the right to disconnect. My Department will monitor compliance with that code of practice and consider whether legislation will be required. My proposed legislation will also ensure that tips are passed on to workers in full. That will give added reassurance to workers in the hospitality and services industries who rely on tips. As part of my legislation, all workers will be legally entitled to a payslip that, if they are paid hourly, details the time worked. The accurate recording of hours is already provided for in legislation. To complement that, I intend to produce guidance for employers and workers that clearly articulates those record-keeping requirements. I propose to increase the reference period used to calculate holiday pay from 12 to 52 weeks. That will help to avoid seasonal fluctuations and provide a fairer and more robust reference period for employers and workers. The third theme is voice and representation. Many countries have a constructive relationship between trade unions and industry bodies that recognises and promotes the shared interest of workers and employers. Workforces that are listened to and respected are more productive, which benefits employers also. My officials will work with the Labour Relations Agency (LRA), trade unions and employers to strengthen the tripartite model of social dialogue. Together, we will introduce a code of practice detailing the behaviours that underpin positive workplace relationships. The LRA engagement forum will be used to promote collective bargaining, with the overarching aim of working towards the target in the EU adequate minimum wage directive of a collective bargaining coverage rate of 80%. Current collective bargaining coverage varies greatly between the public and private sectors, with 80% of public-sector workers having their pay determined by a collective bargaining agreement. That figure falls to 20% in the private sector. To reach that target across the economy, we need to expand trade union membership. My proposed legislation will therefore give more workers the opportunity to be represented by a recognised trade union by lowering the recognition threshold from 21 employees in a business to 10 employees. Trade unions will be able to request access to a workplace in order to promote the benefits of trade unions, engage with members and negotiate with employers on issues such as terms, pay and conditions. An employer will not be permitted to unreasonably withhold access. The rules of engagement on workplace access will be stipulated in guidance. At the moment, balloting must be conducted on paper through postal vote. My proposed Bill will modernise that practice by permitting trade unions to use electronic balloting. I will also consider how the existing bureaucratic requirements placed on trade unions when balloting members can be reduced. Currently, trade unions must keep detailed records of members' addresses, jobs and workplaces. Sanctions for administrative error and the provision of incorrect information are unnecessarily severe. My officials will consider, in consultation with employers and trade unions, what changes can be made to reduce the restrictions on trade unions when balloting their members. My Bill also proposes to abolish the 12-week time limit on protection against dismissal for employees taking part in official industrial action. Under the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2005, employees in larger businesses can request information about the business's economic situation, employment prospects and decisions likely to lead to changes in work organisation or contractual relations. At least 10% of employees and at least 15 people must request a formal information agreement for it to be valid. I intend to reduce that threshold to 2% of employees and at least 10 people. I also intend to ensure that employees of larger organisations who work in smaller offices can avail themselves of a formal information agreement. The final theme is work-life balance. As much as possible, people should be able to balance their work with their family and private life. That will allow more people to stay in work and broaden the pool of staff available to employers. I propose to legislate to remove the current 26-week qualifying period for employees to request flexible working; instead, it will be a day-1 right. The process will also be made easier by removing the requirement for an employee to consider the impact of a flexible working request on the employer; instead, the onus will be on the employer to state why their decision to refuse an application for flexible working is reasonable. At the moment, only one request for flexible working can be made in a rolling 12-month period: I propose that that be increased to two requests each year. Many people require flexibility in order to care for a loved one. I propose, in the first instance, a new right for employees with caring responsibilities to take up to one week of unpaid carer's leave every 12 months to care for a family member or dependant with a long-term care need. My objective is to make carer's leave a paid right. I therefore propose that my Bill provide my Department with powers to enable a statutory entitlement to paid carer's leave that could be introduced when the Executive can afford to fund paid carer's leave or if funding flows from that entitlement being introduced in Britain.

Some babies are born requiring intensive care due to premature birth or illness. That is a hugely stressful time for their parents. I plan to introduce a new legal right of up to 12 weeks' leave and pay for parents whose newborn babies require neonatal care. I propose to enhance paternity leave protections for employees who have a new child — by birth, surrogacy or adoption — by permitting paternity leave to be taken as two separate blocks of one week or a single block of two weeks. My Bill will increase the time in which paternity leave can be taken to 52 weeks from the current 56-day limit. Through the Bill, I propose to enable paternity leave to be taken either before or after a period of shared parental leave and to reduce the notice period that is required for paternity leave from the current 15 weeks to 28 days. I also wish for powers to be delegated in order to make it possible to increase the duration of paternity leave in future, should such an entitlement be introduced in Britain or if the Executive can afford to fund such an entitlement. Finally, I propose to enhance protections from redundancy and dismissal for pregnant employees and for employees who have recently returned to work after a period of maternity or adoption leave or six or more weeks of shared parental leave. Today, I am setting out an ambitious programme that will see the biggest upgrade in workers' rights since the Good Friday Agreement: an end to exploitative zero-hours contracts; paid leave during neonatal care; more protections for agency workers; stronger trade union rights; stronger rights to flexible working; and a fairer distribution of tips. I have, this morning, written to Executive colleagues to seek their endorsement of my proposals. I look forward to my paper being put on the Executive's agenda so that colleagues can come to a collective view. The Executive's decisions will then be translated into a Bill, which can and should become law within the two years that are left of the mandate. As the fine details of proposals are refined in legislation, there will be further opportunities for engagement with the business community, trade unions, the Committee for the Economy and the Assembly. There will then be a phased period of implementation over the next mandate in order to give businesses time to prepare and adapt. In conjunction with the Labour Relations Agency, my Department will provide training and support to employers during the transition period. The legislation will provide a sound foundation on which to create good jobs. I hope that the Executive and the Assembly will support me in paving the road to prosperity.

2,093 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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