Chief Political Correspondent Katherine Forster said some MPs view Labour’s most recent u-turn as a clear “manifesto breach”.
The Government has reversed its manifesto pledge to introduce day one unfair dismissal protections in a bid to keep the Employment Rights Bill on track.
After weeks of back-and-forth in Parliament, ministers have agreed a compromise, cutting the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from 24 months to six months, moving away from its initial promise of day-one protection.
Officials say the change balances extending meaningful rights to millions of workers with addressing concerns raised by businesses.
Under the deal, the Government has also guaranteed that any future adjustments to the qualifying period will require primary legislation, giving employers more certainty.
Additionally, ministers have committed to scrapping the statutory compensation cap for unfair dismissal, although the specifics and timing of that reform are yet to be announced.
Speaking on the People’s Channel, Katherine said: “Labour backbenchers were very, very happy after the Budget because they got that two-child benefit cap lifted, despite the fact that the majority of the public think that that was not the right move.
“We know that this ditching of this ability to sue for unfair dismissal on your first day, basically in a new job, is not going down well with some
Katherine Forster shared her thoughts on the workers right bill
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“John McDonnell has said that it’s a sellout. Of course he would, wouldn’t he?
“But even people like Justin Madders, who’s a key ally of Angela Rayner, has said that it’s a manifesto breach, and it’s because they did promise this.
“But it follows two days of very secretive talks between ministers, business leaders, and the unions.
“And this six months is much more than two years as it stands currently. You don’t have that right to sue for unfair dismissal until you’ve been in a job for two years. Six months, I think, many people will see as a sensible middle ground.
“It’s worth saying too that they couldn’t get it through the House of Lords because the House of Lords, it was ping-pong back and forth between the Lords and the Commons.
“But many Lords, I think, just thought that this policy was ridiculous because of the risk to businesses.
“You can do all the checks, you can take all the references, you do all the interviews.
“But until you actually start working with somebody, the feeling was that it would stop businesses hiring, basically because it just becomes too much of a risk.”