Legislation – Employment Rights Act 2025

provision about the circumstances in which the Negotiating Body may, or must, consider a matter within its remit, including (among other things) provision requiring it to consider any matter referred to it by the appropriate authority;

(b)

provision specifying, or enabling the appropriate authority to specify, factors to which the Negotiating Body may, or must, have regard when considering a matter;

(c)

provision specifying, or enabling the appropriate authority to specify, conditions that must be met in relation to any agreement reached by the Negotiating Body about a matter, including (among others) conditions relating to funding;

(d)

provision requiring members of the Negotiating Body to provide the Negotiating Body with information, or information of a specified description, for the purposes of enabling it to consider, or reach an agreement about, a matter;

(e)

provision requiring the Negotiating Body, if it reaches an agreement about a matter, to submit the agreement to the appropriate authority;

(f)

provision requiring the Negotiating Body to take any specified steps before a date notified to it by the appropriate authority.

(3)

In this section “specified” means specified in the regulations.

44Reconsideration by Negotiating Body

(1)

The appropriate authority may by regulations provide that, in a case where a Negotiating Body submits an agreement to the appropriate authority, the authority may refer the agreement back to the Negotiating Body for reconsideration, or may do so in specified circumstances.

(2)

The appropriate authority may by regulations make provision about what happens where an agreement is referred back to a Negotiating Body as mentioned in subsection (1).

(3)

The provision that may be made by regulations under subsection (2) includes, among other things—

(a)

provision requiring the Negotiating Body to reconsider the agreement;

(b)

provision specifying, or enabling the appropriate authority to specify, factors to which the Negotiating Body may, or must, have regard when reconsidering the agreement;

(c)

provision specifying, or enabling the appropriate authority to specify, conditions that must be met in relation to any revised agreement reached by the Negotiating Body about a matter, including (among others) conditions relating to funding;

(d)

(e)

provision specifying steps which the Negotiating Body may or must take after reconsidering the agreement, including, in particular, submitting the original agreement, or a revised agreement, to the appropriate authority;

(f)

provision requiring the Negotiating Body to take any specified steps before a date notified to it by the appropriate authority.

(4)

In this section “specified” means specified in the regulations.

45Failure to reach an agreement

(1)

The appropriate authority may by regulations make provision about cases where a Negotiating Body is unable to reach an agreement about a matter.

(2)

The provision that may be made by regulations under this section includes, among other things—

(a)

provision for resolving disagreements about any matter;

(b)

provision conferring functions on the appropriate authority or a person specified in the regulations;

(c)

provision requiring the Negotiating Body to act in accordance with a decision of the appropriate authority or a person specified in the regulations.

Giving effect to agreements of Negotiating Body

46Power to ratify agreements

(1)

This section applies if a Negotiating Body submits an agreement to the appropriate authority in accordance with regulations under section 43 or 44.

(2)

The appropriate authority may make regulations ratifying the agreement—

(a)

in full, or

(b)

to the extent specified in the regulations.

47Effect of regulations ratifying agreement

(1)

This section applies if the appropriate authority makes regulations under section 46 ratifying (to any extent) an agreement submitted by a Negotiating Body.

(2)

If the agreement relates to a social care worker’s remuneration, the social care worker’s remuneration is to be determined and paid in accordance with the agreement.

(3)

A provision of the agreement that relates to any other term or condition of a social care worker’s employment has effect as a term of the social care worker’s contract.

(4)

A term of that contract has no effect to the extent that it makes provision that is prohibited by, or is otherwise inconsistent with, the agreement.

(5)

Subsections (2) to (4)—

(a)

do not apply in relation to a term or condition of a social care worker’s employment if, and to the extent that, giving effect to the agreement would alter the term or condition to the social care worker’s detriment;

(b)

do not prevent the terms and conditions of a social care worker’s employment from including a term or condition that is more favourable to the social care worker than that which would otherwise have effect by virtue of those subsections.

Power of appropriate authority to deal with matters

48Power of appropriate authority to deal with matters

(1)

This section applies where—

(a)

a Negotiating Body notifies the appropriate authority that it has been unable to reach an agreement on a matter referred to it, and

(b)

any other specified conditions are met.

In paragraph (b) “specified” means specified in regulations made by the appropriate authority.

(2)

The appropriate authority may by regulations make provision about the matter.

(3)

Regulations under subsection (2) may provide that the regulations are to have effect for determining the terms and conditions of employment of social care workers to whom the regulations apply.

(4)

If the regulations make provision within subsection (3), subsections (5) to (7) apply (but see subsection (8)).

(5)

If the regulations relate to a social care worker’s remuneration, the social care worker’s remuneration is to be determined and paid in accordance with the regulations.

(6)

A provision of the regulations that relates to any other term or condition of a social care worker’s employment has effect as a term of the social care worker’s contract.

(7)

A term of that contract has no effect to the extent that it makes provision that is prohibited by, or is otherwise inconsistent with, the regulations.

(8)

Subsections (5) to (7)—

(a)

do not apply in relation to a term or condition of a social care worker’s employment if, and to the extent that, giving effect to the regulations would alter the term or condition to the social care worker’s detriment;

(b)

Guidance etc

49Guidance and codes of practice

(1)

The appropriate authority may by regulations make provision about the issuing of guidance or codes of practice by the authority in relation to—

(a)

agreements submitted by a Negotiating Body in accordance with regulations under section 43 or 44;

(b)

regulations made by the authority under section 48.

(2)

Regulations under this section may, among other things—

(a)

impose duties on specified persons, or persons of a specified description, in relation to any provision of guidance or a code of practice;

(b)

make provision about the consequences of a failure to comply with any duty imposed by virtue of paragraph (a).

(3)

The provision that may be made by virtue of subsection (2)(b) includes, among other things, provision for the failure to be taken into account in any proceedings before a court or tribunal, including (among other things) for the purpose of determining the amount of any financial award.

(4)

Regulations under this section that by virtue of subsection (2)(b) make provision about the consequences of a failure to comply with a duty imposed by the regulations in relation to a provision of guidance or a code of practice must provide for the guidance or code to be laid before the appropriate legislature and subject to the procedure specified.

(5)

In this section—

“the appropriate legislature” means—

(a)

in the case of regulations of the Secretary of State, Parliament;

(b)

in the case of regulations of the Welsh Ministers, Senedd Cymru;

(c)

in the case of regulations of the Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Parliament;

“specified” means specified in the regulations.

Enforcement

50Duty of employers to keep records

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.

Part 3Pay and conditions in particular sectors

Chapter 2Social care workers

Social Care Negotiating Bodies

39Power to establish Social Care Negotiating Body

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(a)

(b)

(c)

40Membership, procedure, etc of Negotiating Body

(1)

(2)

(a)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(3)

(a)

(i)

(ii)

(b)

(4)

(5)

(6)

41Matters within Negotiating Body’s remit

(1)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(2)

42Meaning of “social care worker”

(1)

(a)

(b)

(2)

Consideration of matters by Negotiating Body

43Consideration of matters by Negotiating Body

(1)

(2)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(3)

44Reconsideration by Negotiating Body

(1)

(2)

(3)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(4)

45Failure to reach an agreement

(1)

(2)

(a)

(b)

(c)

Giving effect to agreements of Negotiating Body

46Power to ratify agreements

(1)

(2)

(a)

(b)

47Effect of regulations ratifying agreement

(1)