Landmark Employment Rights Bill Becomes Law

The MU is delighted that the Employment Rights Bill has finally passed through Parliament and will now become law.

As one of the Labour Party affiliated trade unions, the MU was involved in creating and helping to shape the Bill, which will make working life better for working people whether they are employed or self-employed.

Measures to address the unfairness of zero-hours contracts, the gender pay gap and employment rights are huge achievements by the unions and the Labour Government, and are potentially transformative for our members.

We have been promised by the Government that there will be a second phase next year which will consult on issues around self-employment over the next few months, and that issues facing freelancers, such as late payment of fees and the right to a written contract, will be legislated on in the near future.

We are proud to have been a part of this Bill

Naomi Pohl, MU General Secretary says: “We are so proud to have been a part of this Bill, and we are delighted that the House of Lords has now stopped blocking it.

“It’s fantastic to see Labour raising the bar to stop sexual harassment and protect workers by including liability for third-party harassment, which is a big issue for our members.

“We also welcome the strengthening of protections around pregnancy and maternity, and we hope that this will give more reassurance to new mothers and parents working in the music industry and make it easier for them to assert their rights.

“Plans to close gender pay gaps by asking employers to develop, publish and implement action plans will allow workers to hold employers accountable and should ensure that there is real progress to address women's inequality in employment.

“We look forward to the ‘Employment Rights Bill Two’ which will deal with issues facing freelancers and we will continue to press the Government to introduce this as soon as possible.”