Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers have been accused of attempting to block stronger rights for millions of workers in the midst of a growing campaign by business leaders to weaken Labour’s zero-hours contract plans. In a setback to the government, the House of Lords last week voted on curtailing the manifesto promise to provide workers with the right to a guaranteed hours contract and protections against unfair dismissal starting from the first day of employment.
The situation has escalated to a showdown with the upper chamber as the Lords introduced amendments to the employment rights bill that must be addressed by government ministers when members of Parliament return from their summer recess. In a strong intervention last Monday, Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, accused the Lords of “doing the bidding of bad bosses” and called for them to stop blocking the plans.
The proposed amendments by the Lords include altering the requirement for employers to offer zero-hours workers a contract with guaranteed hours to onus the employees to request such an arrangement. The protection against unfair dismissal, set to be lowered from the current two years under government plans, would be extended to six months, and adjustments to loosen restrictions on trade unions would be limited.
The amended bill is set to return to the House of Commons in September for MPs to review and vote on the amendments, continuing a cycle of negotiations known as “ping-pong” until an agreement is reached. The changes were proposed by Liberal Democrat Lord Goddard, former leader of Stockport council, and two Conservative peers: Lord Hunt, a shadow business minister, and Lord Sharpe, a former investment banker.
Helen Dickinson, the CEO of the British Retail Consortium, welcomed the changes, arguing that they address business concerns about protecting local and entry-level jobs.
Meanwhile, union leaders are urging ministers to remain firm. A recent mega poll involving 21,000 individuals, commissioned by the TUC, found that a majority of UK voters, including supporters of the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and Reform UK parties, support a ban on zero-hours contracts. Nowak stated that the government’s plan includes “commonsense protections” desired by the majority of the public, and accused the peers of being out of touch and actively defying their constituents. However, industry leaders have intensified their lobbying against the workers’ rights changes, citing concerns over job cuts and price increases due to tax hikes in the Chancellor’s autumn budget.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/28/zero-hours-contracts-peers-accused-of-trying-to-block-stronger-uk-workers-rights
