Employment Rights Bill: What Labour's new legislation could mean for teachers and schools

• The government has revealed details of its new Employment Rights Bill, which could see big changes for Britain’s workforce.
• The bill could see zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire banned, and could introduce basic employment rights from day one.
• It could also mean more flexibility for teachers, with changes that could mean a better work-life balance.
• But the details aren’t finalised yet - and not everyone agrees with the changes.

School support staff might soon have guaranteed pay and conditions no matter what kind of state school they work at, and teachers could soon be able to job-hop without losing their unfair dismissal protections.

The government last week unveiled its new Employment Rights Bill, which is being touted as the “biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation”, the BBC reports. The new bill - which will apply to England, Scotland, and Wales - could see sweeping changes for British workers, including an end to “exploitative” zero hour contracts and controversial fire and rehire practices, protection from unfair dismissal apply immediately rather than after two years, sick pay being paid out from the first day of illness, and bereavement and parental leave available to newly-hired workers right away.

However, the bill has proven controversial with some of the business community. It also still needs to go through a consultation process, with its contents unlikely to be finalised until 2026.

Since the Labour Party’s general election in July, it has got to work on a whole host of policies in its education portfolio, many of which could benefit the teaching workforce and pupils alike. These range from introducing free school breakfasts at every primary school, to making private schools pay VAT on fees to benefit state schools, and even a push to recruit thousands of new teachers by making the profession more attractive.

Education unions say the new Employment Rights Bill could mean big changes for teachers too. But what exactly could it mean for our schools and the teaching workforce? Here’s what you need to know:

What could the new bill mean for teachers?

One of the new measures Labour has mentioned is to make flexible working the norm where practical. National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede says that more flexible working for teachers and support staff would be good for staff and students alike. “We think that it will also help greatly with retention. Our members should also have the right to switch off from work – we want to see an end to 10pm work emails.”

But he added that he was disappointed that it looked like the current statutory reasons for refusing flexible working requests would stick around under the new bill - something that could be strengthened in its final wording to make sure it applied to educators as well. “Failing to make flexible working the default will simply lead to more workplace disputes”.

There were also a number of other policies mooted in the new bill that could mean teachers are better able to strike a better work-life balance, identified as a key factor in recruiting more young people into the profession. “Strengthened maternity, paternity and parental rights will help our members balance their working and family lives,” Mr Kebede said.

Education trade magazine Tes adds that giving day-one protections to new employees might make it easier for teachers to switch schools, knowing that they won’t be at risk of being unfairly dismissed. It could also mean tougher recruitment, to find people who are the right fit for a school before hiring them.

There have also been ongoing gender-related issues affecting the teaching workforce, the union says, which the new legislation might help to fix. Under the bill as it currently stands, larger employers - which may include multi-academy trusts - will have to take action on gender equality, including supporting employees through the menopause. Protections against dismissal would also be strengthened for pregnant workers and those returning from maternity leave.

“For too long schools and colleges have avoided taking action on the gender pay gap. Prohibiting performance related pay and increasing pay and progression transparency will expose poor employers and enable women to progress in their careers unhindered,” Mr Kebede continued. “We also want to see greater protection from discriminatory dismissal for older teachers, in particular women teachers who are working through menopause.“

Finally, it could also mean big changes for school support staff, which the union describes as “predominantly female and already the lowest paid members of the school workforce”. These staff have experienced real-term pay cuts since 2010, the NEU says, and face growing workload pressures.

The bill includes a provision to create a school support staff negotiating body, which will negotiate with schools on their behalf - potentially even at academies, according to the Confederation of School Trusts. At the moment, academies can choose whether to follow national pay and conditions frameworks for school support staff, so making it a legal requirement would be “a significant change”.

Confederation chief executive Leora Cruddas warned that not all school trusts operate in the same way. “We must ensure that schools in all types of structures can benefit from the flexibility to deploy support staff in the ways that most benefits pupils, particularly some of our most vulnerable pupils. The reforms so desperately needed to our special educational needs system rely on this, for example.”

What do you think the potential changes could mean for teachers and your child’s school? Have your say and make your voice heard by leaving a comment below.