Keir Starmer hails main new regulation for employees who ‘have slogged their guts out’
Writing for The Mirror, Keir Starmer said the raft of new measures, which includes a right to sick pay from the first day of illness, will drag the world of work into the 21st century
Keir Starmer has hailed a new law to boost workers’ rights for those who have slogged their guts out all year and kept the country running.
Writing for The Mirror, the Prime Minister said the raft of new measures, which includes a right to sick pay from the first day of illness, will drag the world of work into the 21st century.
It comes as the Employment Rights Bill finally received royal assent on Thursday after Lords caved in earlier this week – ending months of deadlock. It means many of the provisions will now become law from April 2026.
Marking the major moment, Mr Starmer said: “It’s not just the privileged few that grow Britain’s economy and keep the country running. It’s the cleaners, carers, nurses, engineers, shop workers, drivers, builders, bar tenders, teachers and teaching assistants, technicians, cooks and more – people who have slogged their guts out all year. Whatever your job, you deserve to be treated with respect in work and to be recognised for the incredible contribution you make. That’s what this new law does.”
On Thursday MPs cheered in the Commons on the final day before the Christmas break as Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle announced the Employment Rights Bill received royal assent. The King signing off the measures agreed by both the Commons and Lords is the last formal stage in legislation becoming law.
Angela Rayner, the former Deputy PM who spearheaded the Bill in government, said: “This is an historic moment, proudly delivered by the whole Labour movement. The Tories & Reform tried to stop it – but Labour stood on the side of working people. Today, we’re calling time on a failed era of low pay and insecurity with landmark rights for 15 million workers.”
The legislation introduces a raft of new workers’ rights, including a right to paternity leave from day one on the job and a right to sick pay from the first day of illness. It will also ban exploitative zero hours contracts and end controversial ‘fire and rehire’ practices which allow bosses to sack workers and hire them back on worse terms.
The Department for Business and Trade said over 15million workers will benefit across all the measures in the new law. And new day one rights will allow 32,000 more dads and partners each year to take paternity leave.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “This is a landmark day for millions of workers. The Employment Rights Act represents the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation. It will deliver common sense changes like banning exploitative zero hours contracts, protecting workers from harassment and sick pay for all – and so much more.”
“These are hard-won rights that the union movement and workers have long campaigned for. For too long, we have lagged behind our European counterparts on workers’ rights. This legislation takes us closer to the mainstream.”
