Employment Rights Bill

Debate between Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames and Lord Goddard of Stockport

Report stage
Wednesday 23rd July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames (LD)]

The noble Lord has plainly given the Government solid pause for thought on that point, because of course any proceedings before a tribunal of first instance can be withdrawn by the litigants. The litigants in this case would be the Secretary of State and the other party—presumably the employer. If subsection (3) is given the interpretation that the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, suggests might be given to it, the worker would be treated as the litigant. That is a difficult point for the courts to resolve. It is a point that at Third Reading the Government really must resolve, and that I entirely accept.

[Lord Goddard of Stockport (LD)]

Follow that. I failed my Bar exam at 11 and I never retook it, so I am at a disadvantage to the House in trying to sum up the debate on this amendment. My noble friend Lord Marks made the case that this is not just an open-and-shut, bonkers piece of legislation; there is more to it.

Last week, I went for my health check, and I had my blood pressure and cholesterol checked. I recommend that the noble Lord, Lord Murray, keeps away from his doctor until probably next Wednesday, because his blood pressure will probably come down by then. That is meant in good spirit, because the noble Lord believed what he said and expanded on it.

For me, there is a different question here. This got a real going over in Committee too, where it all got a bit contentious with the lawyers. The noble Lord, Lord Pannick, always rises carefully and slowly and makes a forensic examination. Unfortunately, my noble friend Lord Marks tries to challenge that, and the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, has to have three or four more goes. However, we are not in the High Court, we are in the House of Lords, so we listen to the exchange.

The point that I am trying to make is that we have spoken to the Government. When somebody said, “We’ve spoken to the Government”, others went, “Ooh, no!” That is the point. There is the Bill and we should talk to the Government. We should raise our concerns with them and see what they have to say. But you do not do that because, “This is a good open goal. This is one we can really embarrass the Government with”. Well, you cannot—because the Secretary of State will have the power to look after somebody who needs looking after.

All those hundreds of years ago, when we had slaves, it was not the slaves who were petitioning to be freed; it was liberal-minded people who thought it was wrong that they should have no say and no place. That is what happens. Workers get jobs. They may be illegal or migrants, but whatever they are, they are human beings and they deserve support. Yes, the state is ultimately the last resort. When everything else fails—health, sickness, drug addiction or whatever it is—the state is the ultimate provider of care from the cradle. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with the state saying—