Legislation – Employment Rights Act 2025

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Part 3Pay and conditions in particular sectors

Chapter 2Social care workers

Supplementary and general

52Regulations under section 46 or 48: supplementary

(1)

Regulations under section 46 or 48 may make provision that has retrospective effect.

(2)

Regulations under section 46 or 48 may make provision by reference to—

(a)

an agreement submitted by a Negotiating Body to the appropriate authority, or

(b)

any other document.

(3)

If regulations under section 46 or 48 make provision by virtue of subsection (2), they must include provision about the publication of the agreement or other document.

53Regulations under this Chapter

(1)

Regulations under this Chapter may confer a discretion on a person when dealing with any matter.

(2)

Regulations under section 46 are subject to the negative resolution procedure.

(3)

Regulations under any other provision of this Chapter are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

54Status of agreements, etc

The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that—

(a)

nothing done by a Negotiating Body, or by members of a Negotiating Body acting in that capacity, is to be regarded as collective bargaining for the purposes of section 178 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;

(b)

any reference to a collective agreement within the meaning of that Act does not include an agreement reached by a Negotiating Body.

55Interpretation of this Chapter

(1)

In this Chapter—

“the appropriate authority” has the meaning given by section 39(5);

“contract of employment” means a contract of service or apprenticeship, whether express or implied, and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing;

“employer”, in relation to a worker, means the person by whom the worker is (or, where the employment has ceased, was) employed;

“employment” means employment under a worker’s contract; and “employed” is to be read accordingly;

“enactment” means—

(a)

an Act of Parliament,

(b)

a Measure or Act of the National Assembly for Wales or an Act of Senedd Cymru, or

(c)

an Act of the Scottish Parliament;

“Negotiating Body” has the meaning given by section 39(5);

“official”, in relation to a trade union, has the meaning given by section 119 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;

“social care worker” has the meaning given by section 42;

“trade union” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992;

“worker” (except in the phrases “agency worker”, “relevant social care worker” and “social care worker”) means an individual who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, worked under)—

(a)

a contract of employment, or

(b)

any other contract, whether express or implied and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing, whereby the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract whose status is not by virtue of the contract that of a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual;

and any reference to a worker’s contract is to be read accordingly.

(2)

Any reference in this Chapter to an agreement that has been ratified is, in a case where the agreement is ratified in part, a reference to so much of the agreement as has been ratified.