Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has outlined how the proposed Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill will reshape Northern Ireland’s workplace landscape as the legislation enters its final phase before Executive approval.
Meeting with representatives from community and voluntary organisations at Parliament Buildings on 18 May 2026, the Minister detailed measures ranging from banded hours for zero-hours workers to enhanced protections for new parents. Attendees included groups advocating for premature and sick babies, carers, women, ethnic minorities, young people and older people. Dr Archibald insisted there remains “plenty of time” to pass the Bill before the Assembly mandate ends in March 2027, despite growing concerns from business groups about the compressed timetable.
From Banded Hours to Neonatal Leave: What the Bill Contains
The proposed legislation, which the Department for the Economy describes as the most significant upgrade to employment law since the Good Friday Agreement, spans four main themes: terms of employment, pay and benefits, voice and representation, and work-life balance. Details of the Minister’s statement and consultation outcomes are available on the Department’s website.
- Zero-hours contracts: Workers on zero-hours or low-hours contracts would gain the right to request a “banded hours” contract reflecting their actual working patterns over a 26-week reference period. Zero-hours arrangements would remain permitted for genuinely casual or seasonal work where both parties agree the flexibility is beneficial. The Bill would also ban exclusivity clauses that prevent workers from seeking additional employment, and require reasonable notice of shifts with compensation for cancellations at short notice.
- Family leave: The Bill introduces neonatal care leave and pay for parents of babies requiring hospital care, allowing up to 12 weeks of leave depending on the duration of care. A new entitlement to unpaid carer’s leave—initially set at five days pro rata annually within a 12-month period—would support employees caring for dependents with long-term needs, with the Minister committing to make this paid “when the time is right.” Paternity leave would become a day-one right, while flexible working requests would be permitted from the first day of employment, with two requests allowed per year.
- Redundancy protections: Pregnant employees and those returning from maternity, adoption, shared parental or neonatal leave would receive enhanced protection from redundancy, with priority status for suitable alternative vacancies extending for 18 months from birth or placement in certain circumstances.
- Pay transparency: All tips, gratuities and service charges must be passed to workers in full, with employers required to provide written statements detailing distribution. Workers would gain day-one rights to written particulars of employment and itemised payslips showing hours worked, while the holiday pay reference period would extend to 52 weeks.
- Trade union rights: The statutory recognition threshold would drop from 21 to 10 employees, while unions would gain rights of access to workplaces—including digital access—to recruit members and negotiate with employers. The notice period for industrial action would remain at seven days, but electronic balloting would be permitted, and the Department will consider reasonable changes to balloting administration to reduce bureaucracy.
- Fire and rehire: The practice of dismissing and re-engaging employees to change terms and conditions would be made automatically unfair unless the employer can demonstrate genuine financial difficulty.
‘Most Significant Reforms in a Generation’
Speaking at the stakeholder event, Dr Archibald emphasised the breadth of consultation undertaken, noting over 100 engagements with businesses, trade unions and civil society since the Bill was first announced in April 2025.
She said: “The Good Jobs Bill reflects significant work to deliver a balanced and considered package of measures, representing the most significant reforms in a generation.
“It introduces progressive changes to strengthen transparency and fairness from the very start of employment.
“Taken together, these measures set out a clear vision for the kind of economy and society we want to build, one that supports families, gives confidence to employers and benefits everyone.”
Time Pressure and Business Anxiety
Despite the Minister’s confidence, the timeline has drawn sharp criticism from a coalition of more than 20 business groups, including the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, CBI Northern Ireland, and the Federation of Small Businesses. In a letter dated 10 April 2026, the groups warned that with the mandate ending in March 2027, “the remaining time in this mandate is insufficient to deliver due and proper scrutiny of some of the most significant proposed changes to employment law in Northern Ireland in decades, which currently incorporates at least 50 policy measures.”
The business coalition highlighted cumulative pressures including the cost-of-doing-business crisis, energy price inflation, and global instability, arguing that “the risk of unintended consequences is now so significant that all consideration should be given to deferring the Bill to the next mandate.” Some DUP politicians have also raised concerns about specific provisions, particularly regarding trade union access rights.
However, trade unions have strongly backed the legislation. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has described the Bill as “one of the most advanced and radical pieces of legislation on these islands,” while a recent Lucidtalk poll indicated strong public support for measures to prevent exploitative zero-hours contracts and improve shift notice periods. Minister Archibald told the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme that she has received “no indication” that any party will attempt to block the Bill in the Executive.
The Road Ahead: Executive and Committee Scrutiny
The Bill is expected to be considered by the power-sharing Executive later this month before advancing to the Assembly’s Committee for the Economy. Dr Archibald has indicated she hopes the Bill will reach Committee scrutiny by May 2026, with the aim of completing the legislative process before the mandate expires.
Speaking recently about the delay in bringing the Bill forward, the Minister said: “It is a big Bill, there are a lot of elements to it, some really important advances in terms of workers’ rights, things in there like the right to carers’ leave, the right to neonatal care leave, the opportunity for people to access trade unions in the workplace.
“From my perspective there is plenty of time left in the mandate to go to the Assembly, to be passed to the committee for its scrutiny and for it to ultimately pass before the end of the mandate.”
Ongoing engagement with business representatives and trade unions is scheduled for later this week, as the Department seeks to secure the consensus needed to advance the legislation.
If passed, the Good Jobs Bill would align Northern Ireland with several recent Great Britain employment reforms while diverging in key areas—most notably the adoption of a banded-hours model for zero-hours workers similar to the Republic of Ireland, rather than GB’s guaranteed hours approach. With the Executive decision imminent, employers and workers alike are watching closely to see whether the landmark legislation secures the political consensus needed to become law before the Assembly rises for the final time next spring.
Questions for consideration:
- Will the Executive approve the Bill this month, or will political disagreements delay its passage further?
- Can the Assembly Committee for the Economy adequately scrutinise 50+ distinct policy measures within the remaining months of the mandate?
- How will small businesses with fewer than 10 employees manage the proposed trade union access rights and reduced recognition thresholds?
- Will the Minister’s commitment to make carer’s leave paid be realised before the mandate ends, or will this require future secondary legislation?
- Does the banded-hours compromise for zero-hours contracts provide sufficient flexibility for seasonal industries while offering security to workers?