Sean Houlston has warned that Labour’s new Employment Rights Bill represents “one of the most damaging and anti-business pieces of legislation in a generation.”
Speaking after delivering his Employment and Skills Update this week, Houlston said the Bill would “bury employers in red tape, strip away flexibility, and punish the very people who create jobs.”
The Bill — now in the final stages of Parliament — introduces day-one employment rights, restrictions on zero-hours contracts, fire-and-rehire bans, and flexible working as a default right. It also enshrines a ‘right to disconnect’ and links the minimum wage to inflation.
“This isn’t about fairness — it’s about control,” Houlston said. “Labour are dressing this up as protection for workers, but it’s really an attack on business confidence. It removes flexibility, increases legal risk, and makes employing people more expensive and complicated.”
He warned that the Bill would have a chilling effect on recruitment, particularly for smaller firms. “The timing couldn’t be worse. Businesses are already battling rising costs, skills shortages, and a volatile economy. This Bill piles on new rules, new liabilities and new bureaucracy. It will make employers think twice about taking people on.”
Describing the proposals as “headline politics, not serious policymaking,” Houlston argued that day-one dismissal rights and rigid contract rules would lead to longer probation periods, reduced hiring, and fewer opportunities.
“What we’re seeing is an ideological crusade against employers. You can’t grow the economy by making it harder to employ people. Every job, every apprenticeship, every opportunity starts with a business willing to take a risk — and Labour is making that risk too high.”
Houlston called on the Government to rethink the Bill before Royal Assent, urging ministers to listen to business leaders who are warning of its consequences. “Good employers don’t need to be punished — they need to be trusted. This Bill will hurt the very people it claims to protect by strangling flexibility, slowing hiring, and stifling growth.”
