Employment Rights Bill: Government motion to insist on disagreement to Lords Amendment 48B but to propose Government amendment (a) and (b) in lieu of LA48B

What happened

On 8 December 2025, the House of Commons voted by 395 ayes to 98 noes to insist on its disagreement with Lords Amendment 48B, while proposing two government amendments in lieu of that Lords amendment. The vote was one of several motions considered together during the third round of Lords amendment ping-pong (the back-and-forth exchange between the two chambers) on the Employment Rights Bill. The result passed comfortably, giving the government authority to proceed with its compromise package on this clause of the Bill.

Why it matters

The Employment Rights Bill is the government's flagship piece of workplace legislation, covering a broad range of protections including rights related to zero-hours contracts, unfair dismissal, statutory sick pay, and support for carers. This vote forms part of the final stage of parliamentary negotiation between the Commons and the Lords, resolving differences over specific amendments. The government's approach was to reject the Lords' version of Amendment 48B but substitute its own amendments in its place, representing a negotiated compromise rather than an outright reversal of Lords changes. The practical effect is to advance the Bill toward Royal Assent, bringing into force new employment protections for workers, including an earlier commencement date for unfair dismissal protections from 1 January 2027.

The politics

The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. Labour, Labour and Co-operative, Liberal Democrat, SNP, Plaid Cymru, and Green MPs all voted in favour, while Conservative, Democratic Unionist, Reform UK, and a handful of independent MPs voted against. The Liberal Democrats voted aye on this particular division despite their spokesperson Sarah Olney raising objections to a separate element of the broader package, specifically the removal of a compensation cap, on which they indicated they would abstain. The Conservatives opposed the Bill throughout, with shadow Secretary of State Andrew Griffith arguing it amounted to a "war on jobs." Labour backbencher Ian Lavery questioned the government from the left, pressing the Minister on whether day-one employment rights, a manifesto commitment, had been diluted. The Bill has been a central battleground between the government and both its internal critics and the opposition throughout late 2025.