TUC general secretary Paul Nowak played down fears yesterday that the Employment Rights Bill will be watered down following ministerial changes, saying people expected Labour to deliver on the promises it made during last year’s general election campaign.

Mr Nowak said that he had seen no evidence that it would be weakened after Angela Rayner and Justin Madders, who championed the legislation, left their posts.

Speaking to the Morning Star at the TUC conference, he added: “Different unions come from slightly different places on the Bill and Unite has long had concerns over fire and rehire. 

“Do I think the Employment Rights Bill represents the end point for improving workers’ rights? Absolutely not.

“It’s really important we get the Employment Rights Bill over the line but that we also get secondary legislation, the codes of practice and so on in place and as watertight as possible.”

Asked about the Bill on Sky News, Defence Secretary John Healey said: “I’m really confident that we’ll deliver what we promised in the manifesto — the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights for a generation. The Bill’s been set out.”

The union federation said that the government’s flagship workers’ rights Bill would tackle Britain’s insecure work epidemic, which new TUC research shows is “pervasive” in every corner of the country.

The Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts by giving workers a right to a contract which reflects their regular hours. It will also create a right to compensation when shifts are cancelled.

The new analysis shows that four million people are in insecure work, such as those on zero-hours contracts, agency, casual and seasonal workers and the low-paid self-employed who miss out on key rights and protections.

The TUC said that insecure work “exploded” under the last Conservative government, increasing by 800,000 from 2011 to 2024.

Its polling has found that 62 per cent of insecure workers are offered shifts at less than 24 hours’ notice.

Four in five workers on zero hours report frequent last-minute scheduling, rising to 85 per cent among carers on zero hours.

And two-thirds of zero-hours workers received no compensation the last time their hours were cancelled, with mothers and carers the most likely to lose out.