Employment Rights Bill – in the House of Commons at 7:36 pm on 11 March 2025.
Amendments made: 86, page 36, line 15, at end insert—
“( ) Part 5B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (redundancy during a protected period of pregnancy) is amended as follows.”
This amendment is consequential on amendment 87.
Amendment 87, page 36, line 24, at end insert—
“( ) After section 49D insert—
“49E Section 49D: supplemental
Regulations under section 49D may—
(a) make provision about notices to be given, evidence to be produced and other procedures to be followed by employees and employers;
(b) make provision for the consequences of failure to give notices, to produce evidence or to comply with other procedural requirements;
(c) make provision for the consequences of failure to act in accordance with a notice given by virtue of paragraph (a);
(d) make special provision for cases where an employee has a right which corresponds to a right under section 49D and which arises under a contract of employment or otherwise;
(e) make provision modifying the effect of Chapter 2 of Part 14 (calculation of a week’s pay) in relation to an employee who is or has been absent from work during, or after, a protected period of pregnancy;
(f) make provision applying, modifying or excluding an enactment, in such circumstances as may be specified and subject to any conditions specified, in relation to a person during, or after, a protected period of pregnancy;
(g) make different provision for different cases or circumstances.””
Section 49D of the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by clause 22, enables the Secretary of State to make regulations about redundancy or dismissal during, or after, a protected period of pregnancy. This amendment would enable the regulations to make supplementary provision in connection with that, such as procedures to be followed by employers and the consequences of failing to follow those procedures. These powers mirror supplementary powers conferred by Part 8 of the 1996 Act in relation to types of family leave such as maternity and paternity leave.
Amendment 88, page 36, line 25, leave out from beginning to “after” and insert “In the heading of Part 5B,”.—(Justin Madders.)
This amendment is consequential on amendment 87.
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A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
