The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has urged the government to take a pragmatic approach to implementing the measures included in the Employment Rights Bill, which has completed its passage through Parliament. The Bill marks a significant step towards delivering greater protections for workers, but ACS has urged the government to ensure that new measures are workable for local shops and other businesses.
The Bill, introduced in October 2024, includes 28 reforms designed to meet the Government’s pledge to ‘make work pay’. Labour had initially planned to scrap the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection, which currently stands at two years, and make it a day one right. However, it has now been agreed that the qualifying period will be reduced to six months. ACS recognises positive changes made during the Bill’s progress, such as adjustments to unfair dismissal rules.
Convenience stores already offer flexibility and security to the 443,000 people they employ. Findings from the 2025 ACS Colleague Survey show:
- 96% of colleagues are on permanent contracts
- 53% work full-time hours
- 72% have never had a shift cancelled
There are ongoing concerns about how guaranteed hours and shift scheduling will work in practice, particularly for retailers with limited capacity and operating on tight margins.
ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “This Bill covers a very broad range of new regulations that we will be consulted on and start to be implemented in 2026. We will continue to work constructively with the Government through upcoming consultations and the development of secondary legislation to ensure that these measures are fair, practical for local shops, and deliver outcomes that are both pro-worker and pro-business. Local shops are an exemplar of good work, offering secure, local, flexible employment, and these businesses need to be supported so they can keep offering these jobs in local communities across the UK.”
Full details of the Employment Rights Bill are available here.
