The Government’s Employment Rights Bill is a landmark piece of legislation that has the potential to transform the working lives of women. With policies aimed at strengthening rights for workers in low-paid, precarious jobs and addressing long-standing issues like pregnancy discrimination, the Bill could finally tackle barriers to well-paid and secure employment that have perpetuated women’s economic inequalities for generations.
Structural gender inequalities still shape women’s experience of employment across every sector of the economy. In 2024, unpaid care remains the root cause of women’s economic inequality, with women carrying out 50% more unpaid work than men[1]. As a result, women are more likely to be economically inactive or in low-paid, part-time, and precarious work. Women therefore have the most to benefit from the Bill.
New Rights and Protections for Millions of Women
The Bill brings good news on statutory sick pay (SSP), removing the threshold for eligibility and the three-day wait period. With women being more likely (6.5%) to be ineligible for SSP than men (2.8%) due to systemic low pay, this is an important step forward that could provide new sick pay rights to 1.47 million women [2]. However, the current rate of SSP is insufficient and has failed to keep pace with rising living cost, meaning that people can’t afford to take the time off even if they qualify for SSP. In most EU countries, the proportion of an individual’s wage that is covered by sickness benefits varies between 70% and 100%. In 2023, the UK sat at just 17% [3].
With 1.5 million women out of the workforce due to long term sickness (200,000 more women than men [4]), this would be a critical step toward tackling women’s health-related economic inactivity by increasing the chances of health recovery and remaining in labour market.
One of the standout proposals in the Bill is a ban on exploitative zero-hour contracts. This change would provide much-needed job security to over half a million women, particularly in sectors where female workers are overrepresented such as care and hospitality [5]. Currently, 3.5% of women are employed on zero-hours contracts compared to 2.8% of men, leaving them vulnerable to unpredictable pay and working conditions [6]. The ban would be a game-changer for women who deserve better workplace protections and a more secure livelihood.
Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination: Long Overdue Protections
Our research shows that pregnancy and maternity discrimination is the number one employment law issue women seek help with [7]. That’s why the proposals to extend the time limit for bringing a claim from three months to six is a crucial step in the right direction and will significantly improve vulnerable women’s access to justice.
But for this change to be meaningful in practice, it must come alongside improvements in women’s access to legal aid. Cuts since 2012 have created significant barriers, especially for women fighting employment discrimination cases. Widening the scope of legal aid and increasing eligibility thresholds would ensure that women can challenge discrimination. Without addressing these barriers in tandem, the Bill’s success in empowering women to challenge discrimination will be limited.
Gender Pay Gap: A Symptom of Broader Structural Issues
In 2023, the gender pay gap was 14.3% for all workers and 7.7% for full-time workers [8]. Not only do women earn less per hour than men, but they are also more likely to work fewer hours due to unpaid care responsibilities. This leads to a gender earnings gap, which often compounds over a lifetime, contributing to a gender pension gap. As a result, women tend to have lower savings and wealth than men, leaving them less prepared for economic shocks and more dependent on social security and public services[9] [10] [11]. This is particularly true for Disabled women, single mothers and Black and Minority Ethnic women [12].
While the Bill includes a welcome focus on reducing the gender pay gap, its proposals on reporting requirements don’t go far enough to tackle the root causes of workplace inequality. In particular, the provisions on gender pay gap reporting for outsourced workers could entrench low wages in female-dominated sectors, like cleaning, instead of pushing for fairer, in-house pay practices.
The Beginning of a Feminist Future of Work?
The Employment Rights Bill is a step in the right direction. A critical component of the Bill’s success will be the government’s commitment to carrying out meaningful Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) that can provide a foundation for informed policymaking, helping to dismantle systemic inequalities and avoid perpetuating cycles of inequality.
And if the Bill is to be a truly transformative moment for the working lives of women, it must be part of a broader, more holistic policy framework to tackle the systemic inequalities that have long hampered women’s choice to participate equally in the labour market free from discrimination. It must therefore go hand in hand with bold reform and investment in our early education and childcare and social care systems.
It’s not a small task but, if the government is serious about building an economy that works for women, this Bill could just mark the beginning of a feminist future of work.
If you enjoyed this piece, please follow the link here to read another piece covering Labour’s approach to key issues affecting women.
[1] ONS, (2023) Time use in the UK: 23 September to 1 October 2023
[2] WBG calculations = 555,000 women on zero-hours contracts Apr-June 2024 + 910,000 women who currently earn less than £123 a week according to TUC in January 2024 (70% of 1.3 million.)
[3] Euronews.com (2023) Paid sick leave: Which countries in Europe have the most generous benefits for ill workers?
[4] WBG (2023) Women and the Labour Market
[5] ONS (2024) People in employment on zero-hours contracts
[6] ONS (2024) People in employment on zero-hours contracts
[7] WBG (2023) Gender gaps in access to civil legal justice
[8] ONS (2023) Gender pay gap in the UK: 2023
[9] WBG (2023) Why taxation of wealth is a feminist issue
[10] WBG (2020) Household debt, gender and Covid-19
[11] WBG (2019) Triple Whammy: the impact of local government cuts on women.
[12] WBG (2024) Where do we go from here? An intersectional analysis of women’s living standards since 2010
