Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to Lords Amendment 1B but to propose Government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords Amendment 1B

Parliament voted on 8 December 2025 to reject a Lords amendment to the Employment Rights Bill (Lords Amendment 1B) and instead adopt two government-drafted amendments in its place. The motion passed by 327 votes to 96. This was the third time MPs had returned to the Bill to consider changes proposed by the House of Lords, and it covered several contested areas including zero-hours contracts, unfair dismissal protections and compensation caps for workers.

The vote advances a major package of employment law reforms that the government has described as its "plan to make work pay." Among the most significant provisions are new rights for workers on zero-hours contracts to be offered guaranteed hours, strengthened unfair dismissal protections taking effect from 1 January 2027, and increases to statutory sick pay. The Bill affects millions of workers in insecure employment across the UK, as well as employers who will face new obligations on working hours and dismissal procedures. The government's amendments in lieu were presented as a negotiated compromise reached with trade unions and business representatives, rather than the Lords' preferred formulation.

The vote divided largely along party lines. Labour MPs, including Labour and Co-operative Party members, voted unanimously in favour, joined by Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and several independents. All 85 Conservative MPs who voted opposed the motion, alongside all four Democratic Unionist Party members who voted, all three Reform UK members who voted, and one each from Your Party and Traditional Unionist Voice. The Liberal Democrats abstained, with their spokesperson Sarah Olney citing a last-minute inclusion of the removal of a compensation cap that she said had not been part of discussions with business groups, though the minister disputed that account. Within Labour, Ian Lavery raised a public concern about the watering down of manifesto pledges on day-one employment rights, though he did not vote against the government.