@mrjamesob.bsky.social - since you’re talking about it this morning!

Following Last nights drubbing in the House of Lords over the Employment Rights Bill, I have a suggestion for the Government on how to deal with the qualifying period for unfair dismissal: rangeofreasonableresponses.com/2025/10/29/t...

Altogether the Governments points would have been better made if they just let the civil servants who wrote the speeches conduct the debate. Watching Government front benchers read out the notes they were given was excruciating.

One last division - this time on the school staff negotiating body. Again, I wouldn’t rate the government’s chances.

And now a division in union political funds. Government has lost every division so far so it doesn’t bode well for them. #employmentrightsbill

Government commits to a review of the right to be accompanied!

Bill will also go back to the commons to reconsider the unfair dismissal qualifying period. Government torn to shreds on that motion

Lords now voting on unfair dismissal as a day one right.

Moving on to Heritage railways now so this might get heated #employmentrightsbill

Lord Fox’s amendment is carried. That means the Bill must go back to the Commons! #employmentrightsbill

First Division is on Lord Fox’s amendment allowing workers to opt out of receiving guaranteed hours offers. #employmentrightsbill

Government rather struggling in the Lords to defend a day one right to claim unfair dismissal

And they are done. Ministers are told to go off and draft reasons for the Lords explaining their disagreement to some of their amendments. Next stop the House of Lords

Now we come to the crux of matters- the employment of children on heritage railways

Government experiencing no difficulty in throwing out Lords amendments that were put forward by the Opposition. But it’s all very time consuming. Silly that they can’t vote by pressing a button. They could all be home by now.

Asked about timetable for NDAs SoS says roadmap ‘stands as is’ All very well but the roadmap was published before the NDA ban was in the Bill so we still don’t know when it will come in

Peter Kyle claiming that the Bill only relates to exploitative zero hours contracts. Hmmm

Looks like the Government is making one concession over the employment rights bill - offering a review of time off for public duties and the duties of special constables

As I suspected, the Commons debating Lords amendment to the Employment Rights Bill is kicking off over employing children on heritage railways

I don’t know whether Ambassadors are technically employees or not. But of course in Mandleson’s case it doesn’t matter because he doesn’t have two years’ service!

I have some thoughts on the reshuffle and the Employment Rights Bill. rangeofreasonableresponses.com/2025/09/09/t...

Just seen that Justin Madders has gone. Now have absolutely no idea what is going to happen to the Employment Rights Bill.

So we have a new cabinet minister responsible for the Employment Rights Bill?

Slightly surprised to find that I have very little idea of who is actually in the cabinet. I used to be such a nerd about this sort of thing.

I know it’s a small thing in the overall picture but if Angela Rayner is forced out that might make a big difference to the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill.

Employment Rights Bill has been passed by the House of Lords. It now goes back to the Commons to consider the amendments that have been made.

Lord Burns proposing the words fullest ever amendment. He really needs to get out more

Employment Rights Bill: Third Reading in the Lords is starting now. Not expecting to learn much new, but we will see!

Always happy to see someone called Darren doing well. At Bar School you only really came upon the name in an exercise about making a speech in mitigation for a shoplifter.

Well these are splendid. How many people can we get to wear them at the ILS conference in September?

Another opposition amendment passed to the Employment Rights Bill. Voluntary work on heritage railways will not count as work in an industrial undertaking for the purposes of the restrictions placed on the work of children and young people. Glad I was tuned in to witness this historic vote!

Why I am unimpressed with the Opposition amendments to the Employment Rights Bill: rangeofreasonableresponses.com/2025/07/21/o...

And that's a wrap! You can watch back a fascinating discussion on where next for the Employment Rights Bill with @nyecominetti.bsky.social @recneil.bsky.social @kategobell.bsky.social @daznewman.bsky.social & Greg Thwaites here www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/new-d...

An important life skill to develop is the ability to not have an opinion on a thing. This is because there are many things which it is not necessary for you to have an opinion on. A related skill is recognizing that the list of things on which an opinion is required is different for everyone.

How does the Government's plans to relocate civil servants sit with its determination to make fire and rehire unlawful? My latest post on the Employment Rights Bill: rangeofreasonableresponses.com/2025/05/19/f...

House of Lords returning to the Committee Stage of the Employment Rights Bill. They are now up to Clause 11! No way is this getting Royal Assent before the summer recess.

The Lords debate on guaranteed hours and seasonal work just illustrates how completely unworkable this part of the Employment Rights Bill is: rangeofreasonableresponses.com/2025/05/09/g...

Watching day 2 of the House of Lords Committee Stage of the Employment Rights Bill. They are still on clause 1!

Heading off for Easter today so I will miss the well informed and civilised debate that will follow the Supreme Courts decision in FWS. My plan is not even to think about it until Tuesday. Enjoy everyone!

I’m in Manchester this morning and there’s a strange orange light in the sky. People are gazing on it in bewildered awe.

Googling a case name I found this AI generated summary of the case from a site called Casemine. No-one reading it could possibly think that AI was about to replace analysis by actual people anytime soon www.casemine.com/judgement/uk...

Linked In emails me to tell me that I may be a fit for the Chair of the Board of Trustees of ‘Rights for Women’. I hope that whatever AI system made that assessment is not being used to make any actual decisions about things.

I love how the heading of the official Employment Rights Bill page is now red to show it has reached the House of Lords. Classy! bills.parliament.uk/bills/3737

They are right!

Odd amendment proposed by the Conservatives to the Employment Rights Bill would allow questionnaires from anyone in the public sector who reasonably thinks they have been disadvantaged by the use of positive action under the Equality Act.

When politicians want to sound like they are modernising government they always talk about ‘performance related pay’ as though that is what you get in all the most go-getting commercial employers. But it’s a lot less common and a lot less effective than they think

The Employment Rights Bill will allow collective agreeements to opt out of the labyrinthine provisions on guaranteed hours. Shall we call this the Bogg/Ford amendment? @thebigbogg.bsky.social

Looking at the Government amendments to the Employment Rights Bill the overall impression is just how unwieldy the right to guaranteed hours is becoming. And this is before we have the Regulations that will be needed to make sense of it.

The Government amendments for the Report Stage of the Employment Rights Bill seem to take up just short of 200 pages. I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoy a bit of legislative detail, but crikey! publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...

Government confirms that the obligation to offer guarantee hours to agency workers will fall on the end hirer rather than the agency. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67c6b5...