Employment Rights Bill Report Stage: Amendment 288

What happened: The House of Commons voted on Amendment 288 to the Employment Rights Bill during its Report Stage on 11 March 2025. The amendment, put forward by the Conservative opposition, sought to make alternative modifications to the government's worker protection proposals within the Bill. The amendment was defeated by 409 votes to 105, a margin of over 300 votes.

Why it matters: The Employment Rights Bill is the government's flagship legislation intended to overhaul workplace protections in the United Kingdom. Opposition amendments at Report Stage represent attempts to reshape the Bill before it moves to the House of Lords. By defeating this amendment, the government maintained its preferred version of the legislation, which includes measures on zero-hours contracts, fire and rehire practices, unfair dismissal protections from day one of employment, statutory sick pay for lower-paid workers, and protections for pregnant workers and new mothers. The Bill is described by ministers as the most significant expansion of employment rights in a generation, affecting millions of workers across the country.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 291 voting Labour MPs and their Labour and Co-operative colleagues rejected the amendment, joined by the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, and the Greens. The Conservatives provided the bulk of the 105 Aye votes, with Reform UK and the Democratic Unionist Party also voting in favour of the amendment. This reflects a pattern throughout the Bill's passage of opposition parties using amendments to challenge specific provisions while the government relied on its substantial Commons majority to defeat them.