Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023

The government has confirmed that it will not proceed with the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023, which would have given workers the right to request a predictable working pattern, despite the Act receiving Royal Assent last September and the initial expectation that it would come into force this autumn.

This Act was intended to give workers the right to request more predictable working patterns, and Acas had already drafted a Code of Practice for handling such requests. However, these plans have now been set aside.

Instead, new legislation focusing on contracts that reflect actual hours worked is expected at some point in the future, as indicated in a statement on the Act provided by a Department for Business & Trade (DBT) spokesperson to Practical Law:

“We will introduce a new right to a contract that reflects the number of hours regularly worked as part of our significant and ambitious agenda to ensure workplace rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and deliver economic growth.”

This initiative is part of a broader strategy to modernise workplace rights, empower workers, and support economic growth.

This approach aligns with the government’s commitment, as highlighted in the briefing note from the King’s Speech (read our article here) in July, to legislate against exploitative zero-hours contracts and ensure workers have contracts that accurately reflect their working hours.

It could be that the government is attempting to streamline its approach by focusing on this new legislation rather than implementing the Act it inherited from the previous party in power. This new legislation therefore may be included in the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill.