Employment Rights Bill

Lord Leigh of Hurley Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 16th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma (Con)]

My Lords, I just want to intervene very briefly as well. I have raised numerous times that I worry that small and medium-sized businesses have been completely left out of the debate. I spend all my time speaking to small and medium-sized businesses, and most of them are very unaware and quite nervous when they get to hear that a lot of legislation is coming their way, and they are certainly not prepared for it.

My grandfather, Mr Ujagar Singh, was one of the founders of the Indian Workers’ Association, and he created that with others to ensure that Indian workers had rights in the 1930s. So I understand it when we are standing up for workers’ rights, because at that time many Indian workers were not even protected by the unions that were here at the time. I am always conflicted, because I want to always make sure that we always have the right laws in place for the workforce. But, at the same time, I have been in business for over four decades, I talk to small businesses all the time, and the one thing that makes me incredibly worried and nervous is the absolute lack of consultation that has gone on with this enormous Bill that will actually destroy jobs, because those small businesses will just close up and shut shop.

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

My Lords, likewise, I have spent the last 40 years advising SME businesses—not always with success, but I do not have a bad track record. Therefore, I support my noble friend Lord Hunt of Wirral’s very appropriate and wise amendment. I know that he too has spent many years advising SME companies from a legal perspective, so he, like me, has a relationship and dialogue with them.

I can tell your Lordships that every single SME company that I have spoken to has honestly no idea of what is in Part 4: they have not tuned in to it or focused on it. They have their own worries—business rates, NICs, trade, oil, energy, you name it—so this is not on their radar. We have received representations from a galaxy of their representatives, such as the British Retail Consortium, the Institute of Directors, the CBI even, the family small businesses association, the British Chambers of Commerce—the list goes on—all of which say that there has been no dialogue and no opportunity to make representations to government.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I do not have the figure, but I will find it out and write to her.

The Bill will, of course, continue to be subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the usual way. We will also be conducting further public consultation on certain parts of Part 4 where there is detail to be set out in secondary legislation or codes of practice. Further consultation of the kind envisaged by these amendments before Part 4 can come into force is therefore not required.

These amendments run counter to the Government’s manifesto commitments, as I said earlier. They seek to delay the commencement of essential parts of the Employment Rights Bill with no valid justification and would hinder the delivery of improved workers’ rights. I therefore ask the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe, to withdraw his amendment.

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

Will the Minister clarify something? In relation to the jolly reception he went to on the Terrace where the delegates were rapturously applauding the introduction of the Bill—in fact, going further—did he say that they were all from B Corp companies, with all the ramifications that brings?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I would not say all, but most of them were members of B Corporations.