Starmer faces backbench anger after ‘day one’ workers’ right U-turn

Sir Keir Starmer is facing backbench anger after ministers abandoned plans to give workers day-one protection against unfair dismissal in a U-turn that breaches the Labour manifesto.

MPs including a former minister who spearheaded the Employment Rights Bill with ex-deputy leader Angela Rayner voiced concerns over the climbdown announced by the Government on Thursday night.

Ministers have axed the proposal to cut the “qualifying period” for workers to make an unfair dismissal claim from 24 months to the first day in a new job, in a bid to get the legislation through Parliament.

The Bill had been caught in a stand-off between peers and MPs over the original plan to give workers the protection on day one, as well as measures to ban “exploitative” zero-hours contracts.

The Government now intends to introduce the right after six months of service instead, while other day-one rights to parental leave and sick pay are still set to go ahead, coming into effect in April 2026.

Labour’s manifesto explicitly promised to “consult fully with businesses, workers, and civil society on how to put our plans into practice before legislation is passed”.

“This will include banning exploitative zero-hours contracts; ending fire and rehire; and introducing basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal,” it said.

The concession, which comes after some businesses voiced concerns about potential costs and recruitment challenges, sparked an immediate backlash among some backbenchers and the Unite union.

Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, Andy McDonald, branded the move a “complete betrayal” and vowed to push for its reversal.

He said: “we cannot support that halfway measure”, adding: “This is a wrong-headed move and I will campaign to have this concession reversed.”

Labour MP for Poole, Neil Duncan-Jordan, told the Press Association: “There has been no discussion with the PLP about this.

“The Lords don’t have primacy over a manifesto commitment, so why have we capitulated?”

Labour MP for York Central, Rachael Maskell, told PA: “Employers have nothing to fear from day-one rights, but workers have everything to fear from an employer who doesn’t want day-one rights.”

Another Labour MP told PA that the climbdown showed that Sir Keir and Ms Reeves were “weak” and had caved to external pressure, adding: “The shtick is this is a workers’ Budget for working people, and then one of your flagship programmes, you knock off a key part of it.

“It’s a manifesto breach.”

Ex-employment minister Justin Madders, who was sacked in the Prime Minister’s reshuffle earlier this year, also disputed Business Secretary Peter Kyle’s claim that the move did not amount to a manifesto breach.

“It might be a compromise. It might even be necessary to get the Bill passed (as soon as possible). But it most definitely is a manifesto breach,” the MP for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough said.

Speaking to broadcasters on Thursday evening, Mr Kyle insisted the compromise had been found by “unions and the employers” and “it’s not my job to stand in the way of that compromise”.

“They’ve gone through the difficult process of working together to find a compromise… it’s my job to accept it,” he said.

Mr Kyle also denied the concession was a breach of Labour’s manifesto.

Unite boss Sharon Graham said the Bill had become “a shell of its former self” while TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the “absolute priority” was to get the legislation on to the statute books.

“Following the Government’s announcement, it is now vital that peers respect Labour’s manifesto mandate and that this Bill secures royal assent as quickly as possible,” Mr Nowak said.

Ms Graham said: “These constant row-backs will only damage workers’ confidence that the protections promised will be worth the wait. Labour needs to keep its promises.”

Business groups welcomed Thursday’s concession, saying the qualifying period of six months was “crucial for businesses’ confidence to hire and to support employment, at the same time as protecting workers”.

However, they warned that firms would “still have concerns” about many of the powers within the Bill, including thresholds for industrial action, guaranteed hours contracts and seasonal and temporary workers.

“We remain committed to working with Government and unions to dealing with this in the necessary secondary legislation to implement the Bill,” the six industry groups involved in discussions with trade unions said.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the move as “another humiliating U-turn” for Labour and said the legislation still contains “measures that will damage businesses and be terrible for economic growth”.

Clive Efford, Labour MP for Eltham and Chislehurst, told Times Radio the move was “disappointing”.

“But there’s a long time to go through this Parliament, and it may be something that the Government might want to return to in the future,” he said.

Clapham and Brixton Hill’s Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy told the BBC: “Rolling back now is a huge problem because if we’re rolling back now, what other tweaks are we going to accept? What else are we going to get pushed into? We’re literally the Labour Party.

“We are here to make policy for working people and this was one of the best opportunities we had to do that, one of the best in a generation.”

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said in a post on X: “Is this a sellout? Yes it certainly is. If it’s unfair to sack someone, it’s unfair whenever it occurs whether it’s day one or after 6 months. The principle is fairness.”