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Published: 2-Jun-26 | By APSCo
Public Policy
Political Monitor | June 2nd Edition
Today sees the launch of the long-anticipated and delayed consultation on introducing Guaranteed Hours protection, short notice and cancellation payments into agency workers’ regulation. The resulting regulations will determine the scope and scale of the requirements to offer workers on low or zero-hour contracts a guaranteed hours contract with the hirer. Government is stressing that they are looking at a range of options within the confines of the primary legislation and to be fully informed it needs responses from as broad a range of employers, workers, recruitment and workforce solutions providers and other stakeholders as possible. Read our press release here.
Infighting in Labour grows, fuelled by the release of the latest Mandelson WhatsApps, but one thing potential leaders could unite around was criticism of the unsolicited advice given by ex-PM Tony Blair, which urged Labour to keep to the centre ground to win the electorate back. Reform UK is facing its own battles to mature into an established political party with sexist, controversial social media posts unearthed on its Makerfield candidate Robert Kenyon. Internationally, the Middle East conflict continues, reflected in UK and global energy prices.
Despite such uncertainties, our recent blog on opportunities in a cooling market highlights an IMF growth upgrade for the UK. Demand still exists in professional markets, and candidate shortages have lessened. Members are seeing the statement of work and interim contracts increasingly relied on to source flexible, skilled labour.
APSCo News
APSCo/OutSource members fed into an ICO roundtable last week to discuss the AI automated decision-making draft guidance prior to our submission of our response. Many members will be using ADM in their processing and members need to ensure they are working with their tech providers to enable transparency and human intervention in reassessing AI decision making.
Parliament, Employment Rights Act & Sector Regulation
Employment Rights Act and Sector Regulations
Make Work Pay: ending one‑sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts
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Right to guaranteed hours
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Notice of shifts
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Compensation for short‑notice cancellations
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Purpose: to set the detailed regulations under the Employment Rights Act 2025
Closes: 25 August 2026
Look out for member consultation meetings, including a meeting with the policy team at DBT over the next 12 weeks. Get in touch if you think you can contribute to our evidence-based modelling group – we are looking to produce evidence to project the impact on hiring across professional sectors and, hence, overarching economic impact.
The Fair Work Agency (FWA) is continuing EAS enforcement activity, with sector and regional visits as well as complaint-driven investigations. An updated policy statement on FWA Enforcement was issued on 19th May, including details on how Labour Market Enforcement Undertakings will be part of EAS enforcement as an alternative to prosecution for criminal offences. We are looking out for a consultation on holiday pay enforcement over the coming months.
ACAS has published guidance on Employment Rights Act changes and is hosting a series of webinars in the coming months aimed at helping businesses prepare for the changes. ACAS can also support businesses in navigating both individual and collective workplace conflict. This may be a useful resource as the policy landscape evolves.
Parliament and Consultations
The government published the results on its recent call for evidence on Fit Notes. Employers overwhelmingly said the current system does not help to get people back to work, and there is minimal guidance given by doctors on reasonable adjustments. Employees were far more positive about the system, while healthcare workers felt they did not always have the occupational health training to give the best advice. The Government pledged to reform the system as part of its actions following Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review, published in November 2025.
EU Reset: The Hansard Society has published its consultation response on dynamic alignment to EU rules proposed by the Government. They say this will increase government powers and reduce Parliamentary scrutiny. They make a series of recommendations.
Make Work Pay: ending one‑sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts – see above.
Health Bill – read more in the House of Commons Library summary. Reforms to the Integrated Care Board and Foundational Trust models will be of interest to healthcare recruiters.
Other Announcements & Publications
Skills: AI & Technology
Alan Milburn’s report on NEETs (young people Not in Education, Employment or Training) makes sobering reading; click the link under APSCo News to read our PR.
This week Skills England published its annual report on skills, providing information on priority jobs and sectors and skill requirements. Interestingly, despite concerns around AI replacing IT roles, the report suggests a surge in programming jobs across all high-skilled sectors through 2035. Please get in touch with tania.bowers@apsco.org if you track job type growth and could contribute to APSCo evidence-based reporting.
Politico reported that a new coalition of unions and think tanks including the IPPR called The New Contract has emerged, urging Rachel Reeves to step in with hikes to CGT and AI workplace adoption regulations to protect jobs.
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Political Monitor | April 21st Edition21 April 2026
The monthly ONS Labour market statistics are out today, showing job vacancies declined by 3.9% over January-March 2026. Read more below.
- Public Policy