Recent announcements suggest the government has moved away from amending UK employment law via an all-encompassing Employment Bill. Instead, it is supporting changes proposed by backbench MPs through various Private Members’ Bills (PMBs).

The Queen’s Speech in December 2019 announced the government’s intention to bring about various employment law reforms, in particular those recommended in the Taylor Review and subsequent consultations, via an Employment Bill. However, no draft Bill has yet materialised, with the suggestion that it will be delayed ‘until Parliamentary time allows’. Several backbench MPs have, however, introduced separate PMBs which cover much of the same ground as the intended Employment Bill and which have received government backing.

Carer’s Leave Bill

• The Bill proposes a new flexible entitlement of one week’s unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care for a dependant with a long-term care need.
• It will not matter how long the employee has been employed for – leave will be available from the first day of employment.
• Employees will not need to provide evidence of how the leave is being used or for whom it is used.
• Leave can be taken flexibly, either as half days or full days, up to the full week entitlement.
• Employees on Carer’s Leave will get the same protections, including protection from dismissal or detriment as a result of having taken it, as associated with other forms of family related leave (such as Maternity,...

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