The government published its plan for workers’ rights this week, with the business secretary describing it as “the biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation”.

Consultations on the Employment Rights Bill are expected this year, but the government said the measures will not come into force earlier than 2026.

The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, confirmed this week that the bill will kickstart the restoration of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). Labour’s intention to reintroduce the body was first revealed by Tes last year.

What the Employment Rights Bill means for schools

Here is everything we know so far about the bill and what it means for schools:

1. School support staff pay body draws mixed reaction

The Department for Education said this week that the SSSNB - which was abolished in 2010 - would be reinstated to replace the National Joint Council in pay and conditions negotiations for roles including teaching assistant, administrative staff, catering staff and caretakers.

The DfE said the government will consult on the detail of the legislation, including the definition of support staff.

It added that the new body will be made up of employer and union representatives, with an independent chair, and will make sure that support staff are paid fairly and have access to training and opportunities for career progression.

Last year the Commons Education Select Committee said that the DfE should ensure that pay rises for support staff are funded in school budgets.

Supporting documents for the bill make it clear that the SSSNB will apply to support staff in both maintained schools and academies to ensure ”greater consistency across all schools” - a move that has drawn criticism from trusts’ leaders.

• Teaching unions: Which one is right for you?
• Teacher pay: Unions call for urgent DfE action on pay, workload and funding
• Flexible working: Phillipson asks how teacher pay can support more flexibility

Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said replacing academies’ freedom to choose whether to follow a national pay and conditions framework with a legal requirement “would be a significant change”.

She added that it is important to ensure that schools “in all types of structures can benefit from the flexibility to deploy support staff in the ways that most benefit pupils”. Ms Cruddas said that the CST will “work closely with government” to ensure that the legislation supports “fair employment terms” for support staff and protects the “flexibility that is crucial to the ongoing work of trusts”.

The trade union Unison said it is working with the DfE to set up the new body and “will be pushing for year-round contracts, rather than term-time only ones”.

2. Flexible working for teachers

The government said this week that the new bill would make flexible working the default option where it is practical.

In a Unison survey published earlier this year, more than one-third of female school staff said they had their requests for flexible working denied.

Under the bill, employers would still be able to refuse requests for flexible working, but they would have to specify the grounds for refusal and why the refusal is reasonable.

While many of the statutory grounds for refusal would be relevant for schools, such as an “inability to reorganise work among existing staff” and an “inability to recruit additional staff”, some think that the bill could improve flexible working opportunities in the sector.

Alistair Wood, CEO of Edapt, which provides legal support for teachers and school staff, said the legislation has “the potential to challenge the rigid structure of school hours and term dates”.

However, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said it was disappointing that the statutory reasons for refusing requests for flexible working had been retained. He added that “failing to make flexible working the default will simply lead to more workplace disputes”.

And Dame Alison Peacock, CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching, said that “real barriers” to the implementation of flexible working still persist, including staff shortages.

The education secretary recently asked the independent pay review body to make recommendations on how the teacher pay framework can allow for more flexible working in the profession.

3. Trade union rights beefed up

The Employment Rights Bill also sets the path for scrapping the Conservatives’ planned legislation on minimum service levels during strike action.

The Conservatives’ plan, first revealed by Tes last year, would have kept up to three in four pupils in schools during teacher strikes.

The new legislation would also scrap the ballot thresholds required for legal strike action - education unions currently must have at least a 40 per cent turnout for their strike ballot and 50 per cent voting in favour of strike action. This system has been described by the NEU as “draconian”.

This would be replaced with the requirement that “the majority voting in the ballot” vote in favour of strike action.

In supporting documents, the government said that removing these restrictions would support trade unions and their members in taking industrial action.

Unions would also be given the right to conduct votes for walkouts through an electronic ballot and to halve the notice period for action from 14 to seven days.

In addition, the legislation would give the secretary of state the power to lower the percentage of representation that a trade union needs in a workplace in order to be recognised.

4. Increasing staff protections against dismissal

The bill is also set to deliver stronger protections against dismissal for pregnant women and new mothers, as well as establishing the right to parental and bereavement leave from the first day in the job.

Mr Wood said that the Burgundy Book - which contains the conditions of service for school teachers - would need to be updated to reflect these changes, which will “likely require consultations between unions and employers”.

The government said the bill would balance giving staff protection against unfair dismissal and allowing employers to operate probation periods.

Mr Wood added that a “lighter-touch process” for dismissals during probationary periods “may conflict with some of the more robust protections in the Burgundy Book”.

He also highlighted that it is not yet clear how the bill and the resulting law will interact with the school teachers’ pay and conditions document.

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of NASUWT teaching union, said the union will be working closely with the government to ensure that detailed measures needed to protect agency workers are “fully and effectively in place”.

5. Protection against harassment

The bill would improve workers’ rights to protection, including from harassment by third parties (such as students, parents or guardians).

It details that employers “must not permit a third party to harass” an employee.

Tes has previously revealed concerns about a rise in complaints and harassment by parents against school staff since the pandemic.

6. Fair Work Agency

The bill would introduce a new state enforcement agency, the Fair Work Agency, with the power to inspect workplaces and enforce compliance with employment law.

Law firm Stone King said it anticipated “a significant increase in employment tribunal claims” due to the resulting reforms, and advised employers to explore insurance for employment tribunal claims.