It is one of several policy areas within the bill that are set to change, according to a report in The Times, with legislation regarding probation periods also being diluted.
A Government source told The Times: “The right to switch off is dead.
“We have to lower business compliance costs as much as possible. Growth that puts money in people’s pockets is the number-one priority of this Government’s ‘plan for change’.
“That means making Britain the best country in the world in which to do business — and a key part of that is removing unnecessary barriers.”
First announced in July last year, the new Employment Rights Bill has been described by the Government as being ‘the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation’.
Under the legislation, ‘fire and rehire’ and ‘fire and replace’ practises will be abolished, which will be done by reforming the law to ‘provide effective remedies and replacing the previous Government’s statutory code’.
Companies could also be forced to pay people for late notice shift cancellations so that workers are not in a position ‘where their shift is cancelled when they’re already on the bus to work’.
It was originally planned that zero-hour contracts would be banned under the legislation. However, while the Government still intends to tackle what it calls ‘exploitative’ zero-hours arrangements through the bill, an outright ban of them has been dropped.
In other changes to the bill, the Government will signal a preference to set probation periods at nine months rather than the six demanded by union leaders.
Elsewhere, the bill will introduce requirements for all workers to be entitled to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal from their first day.
The lower earnings limit on Statutory Sick Pay will also be removed with the three-day waiting period set to be scrapped.
Additionally, the bill will introduce stronger protections for new mothers by making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work; and simplify the process of statutory recognition, introducing a regulated route to ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces.
According to The Times, the reforms will not be implemented until autumn 2026 at the earliest.