Clock ticking on Angela Rayner's workers' rights bill

Angela Rayner has issued an aggravated telephone to MPs to beryllium "through the night" to halt hereditary peers delaying her flagship employment rights bill.

In an outburst astatine the commencement of the latest "ping pong" betwixt the Lords and Commons, she said: "What's incorrect with protecting radical from unfair dismissal?"

The former lawman premier minister deed retired astatine the delaying tactics of the House of Lords, with the timepiece ticking lone days earlier parliament's Christmas recess.

The measure present goes backmost to the Lords connected Tuesday, erstwhile ministers anticipation peers volition driblet their absorption truthful the measure tin person royal assent by the clip parliament rises connected Thursday.

Ms Rayner's onslaught connected hereditary peers followed a authorities decision successful the Lords by 24 votes past week, conscionable days earlier Sir Keir Starmer created 25 caller Labour peers.

"What connection does this nonstop to the British public, erstwhile 33 hereditary peers person tried to decision the authorities by 24 votes connected a manifesto committedness connected sick pay, for example, which volition miss the deadline for April for immoderate of the lowest earners from immoderate of the wealthiest?" she declared.

"Shouldn't we get on, spell done the nighttime if we person to, and get this measure passed?"

And employment curate Kate Dearden told MPs: "We person been successful ping pong for acold excessively long, and further hold is not successful anyone's champion interest."

At the extremity of an hour-long debate, MPs voted by 311 votes to 96, a bulk of 215, to region a headdress connected unfair dismissal compensation, overturning a ballot successful the Lords past week.

In its attempts to get the measure done the Lords, ministers person abandoned time 1 extortion against unfair dismissal and, aft a woody with commercialized unions, replaced it with a six-month qualifying period.

But astatine the aforesaid clip the authorities introduced an 11th hr measurement to scrap compensation caps for unfair dismissal, which is presently 52 weeks' wage oregon £118,223, whichever is lower.

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Shadow concern caput Andrew Griffith, who has led Tory absorption to the bill, attacked the removal of a cap.

"It wasn't successful the manifesto, it wasn't successful the bill, it wasn't successful the interaction assessment," helium protested.

Earlier, successful a boost for the government, six concern groups urged peers to backmost down and extremity the parliamentary "ping pong" betwixt the Commons and the Lords.

The groups, including the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), fearfulness the six-month unfair dismissal compromise agreed with the unions could beryllium astatine risk.

"To debar losing the six-month qualifying period, we truthful judge that present is the clip for parliament to walk the bill," they urged successful a missive to Business Secretary Peter Kyle.

Mr Kyle said "all parties... person made hard but indispensable compromises to bring this measure forward" and urged "everyone" to recognise concern groups and commercialized unions privation it passed "without further delay".