Ditching first day rights for workers 'not U-turn'

THE government's decision to abandon day-one workers’ rights against unfair dismissal is not a U-turn and does not break Labour's election manifesto, a senior Cabinet minister has insisted.

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Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, pictured below, said the Employment Rights Bill remained “the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”, after the government announced a key part of it would be dropped. Ministers have axed the proposal to cut the qualifying period for workers to make an unfair dismissal claim from 24 months to the first day in a new job, in a bid to get the legislation through Parliament.

The government now intends to introduce the right after six months of service instead, while other day-one rights to parental leave and sick pay are still set to go ahead, coming into effect in April.