Employment Rights Bill Report Stage: New Schedule 2

Parliament voted on 12 March 2025 to add a new schedule to the Employment Rights Bill at Report Stage, passing by 333 votes to 100. The new schedule adds detailed legislative provisions to support the broader employment protections the Bill is designed to introduce. Report Stage is the phase at which MPs examine and amend a Bill in detail on the floor of the House of Commons before it proceeds to its Third Reading.

The new schedule advances the government's programme of expanding workers' rights by embedding further detailed provisions into the Bill's legal framework. By passing this addition, Parliament moved the Employment Rights Bill closer to becoming law with a more comprehensive set of enforceable protections for workers. The changes affect employees and employers across the UK, with businesses facing new or clarified obligations and workers gaining additional statutory rights.

The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 308 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted backed the schedule, joined by the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Greens, and most independents. Voting against were 91 Conservatives, 6 Reform UK MPs, and 3 Democratic Unionist Party MPs, along with one independent. There were no Labour rebels. The vote reflects the broader political contest over the Employment Rights Bill, which the government has pursued as a flagship piece of legislation while the Conservatives and Reform UK have argued against what they characterise as excessive employment regulation.