Employment legislation update: What the Prime Minister’s challenges remind us about new protections
There is a certain irony in watching a Prime Minister’s job under threat, while simultaneously passing laws that make it considerably harder for anyone else to lose theirs. As Sir Keir Starmer faces the most turbulent period of his premiership, one can’t help but notice he is the only worker in Britain currently lacking “day-one” security, the very protection his Government has spent the past year legislating into existence.
With that thought duly noted, here is what those protections mean in practice.
Fire and Rehire
If Sir Keir were an ordinary employee under the Employment Rights Act 2025 his government legislated into existence this April, his current “workplace difficulties” would be handled quite differently. For a start, he’d be looking to the brand-new Fair Work Agency, tasked with enforcing compliance, established last month.
Perhaps most pertinently, the Employment Rights Act introduced significant restrictions on “fire and rehire” practices – where employers terminate contracts and offer re-engagement on less favourable terms. In the old days, a Prime Minister facing a mutiny could be “fired and rehired” with a slightly different cabinet and a fresh set of promises. In an ordinary workplace, under the October 2026 “Fire and Rehire” clampdown, such manoeuvres now require an employer to prove they are facing a genuine “financial collapse”.
Statutory Sick Pay
Then there is the matter of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). As of April 6, the “three-day waiting period” has been tossed into the dustbin of history. SSP now kicks in from Day One. This is excellent news for the average office worker with a seasonal sniffle, but a bit of a tease for a PM under the stress of local elections, global shocks and leadership challenges. Under the new rules, the lowest earners now qualify, with the Lower Earnings Limit scrapped. The rate has also shifted to 80% of the average weekly earnings.
Unfair Dismissal
But the real kicker for our Prime Minister is the shift in Unfair Dismissal protections. While the full “six-month right” doesn’t officially kick in until January 2027, the vibe has already shifted. In the current climate, Sir Keir is essentially on a very long, very public performance improvement plan (PIP).
Usually, a PIP involves a few awkward meetings in a glass-walled office. Sir Keir’s PIP unenviably involves the King’s Speech, a naval standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, and 81+ of his own MPs holding metaphorical P45s.
Trade Union recognition
Trade Union recognition has just been made significantly easier. The threshold for a union to be accepted by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) has been slashed to a mere 10 per cent membership. For employers who have historically operated without union recognition, this is a material change.
Flexible working
As the PM stares down the barrel of the daily challenges, including to his leadership, the irony must not be lost on him that the new protections grant the rest of the nation the right to Flexible Working by default, yet he’s expected to be at his desk 24/7 dealing with global shocks. He has strengthened the Collective Redundancy “Protective Award”- doubling the penalty to 180 days’ pay for bosses who don’t consult their staff in redundancy situations.
Final thoughts
In the end, Sir Keir’s predicament serves as a cautionary tale. It’s all well and good to build a “Fair Work” economy where everyone has security, from the moment they hang up their coat. But as any Prime Minister will tell you, in the highest office in the land there is no such thing as a “permanent contract”, only a series of very stressful, very public, day-to-day renewals.
