King’s Speech set to incorporate employees rights invoice banning fireplace and rehire techniques

A new law to protect workers from unscrupulous bosses is set to be be included in Keir Starmer ’s first King’s speech.

The Employment Rights Bill, which Labour plan to pass within 100 days of taking office, will ban zero-hour contracts and outlaw ‘ fire and rehire’ tactics. Ferry firm P&O were branded “modern-day pirates” after using the tactic to sack 786 staff before replacing them with agency staff – who could be paid as little as £4.87 an hour – in 2022.

King Charles will deliver a speech in the House of Lords on Wednesday at the State Opening of Parliament, setting out the new laws the Labour government have planned for the coming session. The bill is also expected to introduce basic statutory rights from day one on sick pay and parental leave – and beefed up protections against unfair dismissal. And it will allow the government to scrap unnecessary restrictions on union activity.

“Labour is the party of working people, and this Labour government is delivering on our promise to make work pay with a New Deal for Working People,” a Labour source said. “We will hit the ground running introducing legislation within the first 100-days of entering office. The Tories let wages stagnate and have left millions of workers in insecure jobs. Labour will turn the page, improving people’s lives and boosting economic growth for everyone’s benefit.”

A Government source said: “We want to make Britain the best place to work and restore the country to the service of working people and this legislation represents the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. By boosting incomes, ensuring workplace rights are fit for a modern economy and tackling insecure work, we’ll increase productivity and create the right conditions for sustained economic growth.”