Scotland's social care minister has welcomed a UK government shake up to employment legislation which plans to provide workers with more protections from day one, saying it "aligns well" with Scottish Government goals.

In a letter to her UK counterpart, Stephen Kinnock - the minister of state for social care - Maree Todd said the Scottish Government is "keen to engage constructively around the bill to ensure that we remain aligned with what I believe are broadly compatible policy goals".

In particular, she said the new Employment Rights Bill had the potential to lead to "positive change for social care workers and organisations across Scotland and other parts of the UK".

READ MORE: 

It comes as the Scottish Government's plans for a National Care Service look to be on the verge of collapse as political backing unravels. 

The Bill, passed by MPs on Monday, means workers will have the right to claim unfair dismissal against their employer from day one.

Currently, employees are not eligible to sue for unfair dismissal unless they have been in post for at least two years.

The legislation - which is not expected to come into force until autumn 2026 - also sets out plans to make flexible working the "default".

It gives workers the right to request home or hybrid working, a four-day week, or flexible start and finish times, although employers can refuse, for example if it would be "detrimental" to meeting customer demand.

Restrictions on statutory sick pay will also be removed.

Currently workers are only eligible for the payments if they have been off ill for three days in a row, and only if they earn an average of £123 a week or more.

Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has promised the 'biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation'  (Image: Getty) Entitlement to parental leave and bereavement leave will kick in from day one, instead of after a year, and the Bill also includes much tighter rules around zero hours contracts and a ban on 'fire-and-rehire' practices except in circumstances where a company is otherwise at risk of insolvency.

The overhaul - the first phase in the Plan to Make Work Pay - has been described by the UK Government as the "biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation".

However, it has faced criticism from some organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses who said the legislation was "clumsy, chaotic and poorly planned" and would deter job creation and recruitment of people who had been out of the labour force for a prolonged period.

The UK Government's own analysis says it will cost businesses up to £5 billion a year to implement.

As employment law is currently reserved, the Bill will apply to England, Scotland, and Wales.

However, some clauses - including plans to establishing a negotiating body for "sectoral bargaining" on pay and conditions between trade unions and employers within adult social care - do not apply in Scotland.

Maree Todd said the Bill has the potential to lead to 'positive change for social care workers' in particular (Image: PA) In her letter, seen by the Herald, Ms Todd said she had asked Scottish Government officials to "consider how this might also operate in Scotland as part of our consideration of the bill provisions".

The Scottish Government and Cosla has already established a sectoral bargaining body for Scotland - the Fair Work in Social Care Group (FWiSC).

Ms Todd said it was "important" that the new negotiating body being created by the UK Government does not "duplicate or create inadvertent gaps or other issues with the activity that is well underway here in Scotland". 

READ MORE: 

In a separate letter to Andy Kerr, chair of FWiSC, Ms Todd said she is seeking its views on the "potential implications" of the Employment Bill for the social care sector in Scotland.

She added: "In particular, I would be keen to hear the views of the Group on the creation of an Adult Social Care Negotiating Body and the potential for the scope of this part of the legislation to be extended to Scotland.

"I would also like to avoid, if possible, any scenario where the significant progress made by the FWiSCG in developing a bargaining arrangement for the Adult Social Care workforce in Scotland is undermined in anyway, by the proposals outlined in this bill."

Scottish Greens leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie. Party members will vote on withdrawing support for the National Care Service during conference todayScottish Greens leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie. Party members will vote on withdrawing support for the National Care Service during conference today

Meanwhile, Scotland's planned National Care Service looks set to face a fatal blow this weekend as the Scottish Greens hold an emergency debate during their conference Greenock today on whether to withdraw support for the initiative. 

Councils and trade unions have already withdrawn support for the NCS, which has faced repeated delays, rising costs, and revision since first being unveiled in 2021. 

The proposals included plans to standardise terms and conditions for all care workers, but the GMB said current legislation for the NCS had "squandered" the opportunity to "tackle low pay and private profiteering in social care".