Law giving workers right to request more predictable working conditions will not be brought into force in September

At a glance

• The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 (WPTCA) received Royal Assent in September 2023 and was expected to be brought into force in September 2024.
• No commencement regulations have been passed.
• It is now being reported that the WPCTA will not be brought into force.
• Instead the government plans to bring in a right to a contract that reflects the hours regularly worked.

The WPTCA received Royal Assent in September 2023 and was expected to be brought into force in September 2024; however, no commencement regulations have yet been passed. The WPTCA would have given workers and agency workers the right to request more predictable terms and conditions of work, subject to a period of qualifying service.

It is now being reported that government sources have confirmed that the Labour government will not bring the WPTCA into force, but instead will include strengthened rights for workers in the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill.

Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay (Plan), published in May, stated that 'Labour will end ‘one sided’ flexibility and ensure all jobs provide a baseline level of security and predictability, banning exploitative zero hours contracts and ensuring everyone has the right to have a contract that reflects the number of hours they regularly work, based on a twelve-week reference period.' This is expressed as a right, rather than a right to request as under the WPTCA, although it is not yet clear how that will work in practice or whether there will be a qualifying period of service beyond the 12 week reference period. The Plan also stated that 'We will ensure all workers get reasonable notice of any change in shifts or working time, with compensation that is proportionate to the notice given for any shifts cancelled or curtailed.'

The Labour manifesto stated that the Employment Rights Bill would be published within the first 100 days of government, which would be by 13 October.