The British government fudges its employment-rights bill

Britain’s new Labour government came to office pledging the biggest shake-up in workers’ rights in a generation. It also promised to be the most pro-business government that the country had ever seen. On October 10th, just inside its self-imposed deadline of unveiling legislation within 100 days of taking office, it introduced its employment-rights bill to Parliament. But the contradictions between Labour’s promise to be both pro-worker and pro-business remain. The details of some of the most contentious changes are still uncertain; many will not come into effect until at least 2026.