The Queen’s Speech 2022 – key takeaways for employment

Prince Charles wasn’t the only last-minute revision to the Queen’s Speech: until recently, an Employment Bill was expected to be included for the government to fulfil its 2019 manifesto commitment “to make the UK the best place in the world to work”. It was set as the biggest shake-up of UK employment law for decades.

However, the Queen’s Speech still included key Bills that employers – and HR Directors in particular – should be aware of for their compliance obligations and workforce planning, including the strengthening of the Modern Slavery Act, immigration penalties and application of the national minimum wage in the maritime sector.

The delayed Employment Bill

Labour market fairness took up a fair chunk of the Conservative’s 2019 pitch to voters, with action promised across a vast range of areas and developed further through a raft of government consultations since. Amongst these were proposals related to:

• the creation of a new single labour market enforcement body
• enhanced rights for workers to request more predictable contracts
• compensation for cancelled shifts and minimum notice of working hours
• ensuring workers retain tips
• enhancing regulatory clarity on the use of non-disclosure agreements
• strengthening redundancy protection to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination
• introducing an extended leave of 12 weeks for neonatal care
• strengthening paternity and shared parental leave and pay
• a ban on the use of ‘exclusivity clauses’ in certain circumstances, subject to further consultation
• strengthening employee’s flexible working rights, subject to further consultation
• an extended entitlement to leave for unpaid carers.

Whilst not without regulatory cost, employers support some of these measures, such as strengthening family-friendly rights, compensation for shifts cancelled at short notice and the right to request a more predictable contract. These will ensure the UK retains a modern, fair and flexible labour market that can support UK growth.

Despite not including a specific Employment Bill within the Queen’s Speech, the government has indicated that it still intend