Employment Rights Bill Report Stage: Amendment 288

MPs voted on 11 March 2025 on Amendment 288 to the Employment Rights Bill, which would have removed hospitality venues and sports grounds from a new clause making employers legally responsible for harassment of their staff by third parties such as customers. The amendment was defeated by 409 votes to 105, meaning no such exemption will be created. The vote concerns Clause 18 of the Bill, which introduces a duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent third-party harassment of their workers. Defeating this amendment means that pubs, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and sports venues will be subject to the same duty as any other employer, with no carve-out for the particular conditions of those environments. Staff in hospitality and at sporting events, who frequently interact with large numbers of members of the public, will be covered by the strengthened protections. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 93 Conservative MPs who voted backed the amendment, joined by all 7 Reform UK MPs and 3 Democratic Unionist Party MPs. All Labour, Labour and Co-operative, Liberal Democrat, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, and Green MPs who voted opposed it. Three independent MPs voted for the exemption and three against. There were no Conservative or Reform MPs voting against the amendment, and no Labour or Liberal Democrat MPs voting for it, making this a clean government versus opposition division with no notable rebels on either side.