Opinion: Stormont's Good Jobs Bill is bold, now it must be delivered
"Bringing Northern Ireland into line with GB shouldn’t be controversial. That it might be says more about our political dysfunction than it does about the proposals themselves."
James is Belfast Live's dedicated Political Reporter covering news and politics across Northern Ireland.
It’s rare for something genuinely substantial to come out of Stormont. But the proposed Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill could be the most significant piece of employment legislation the Assembly has produced in years, maybe even since devolution. It sets out to do something politicians often shy away from, and that is to rebalance power in the workplace.
If passed in full, the Bill would bring Northern Ireland ’s employment protections broadly in line with those in Great Britain. That includes scrapping the Swedish Derogation, which was abolished in the rest of the UK in 2020 and continues to allow agencies in Northern Ireland to undercut regular staff on pay. It means ending exploitative zero-hours contracts and giving workers the right to shift to contracts that reflect the hours they actually work. It also means boosting workplace rights around pay transparency, flexible working, trade union access, and protections for new parents.
For most workers, especially those in hospitality, retail, care, or agency work, this could be transformative. It would mean no more last-minute shift cancellations without compensation, no more guessing whether that "freelance" contract is genuinely self-employment or a way for an employer to dodge basic responsibilities, and no more getting sacked and rehired the next day on worse terms just because management decides to tighten the belt.
In short, this Bill offers actual material improvement in people’s working lives, which is a rare thing in Northern Ireland.
But there’s a problem, and it's not just the political fragility of Stormont. It’s the fact that everything about this Bill, from its timing to its content, is now up for grabs.
Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has laid out a clear and commendable vision. But she’s racing the clock. Two years have already been lost from this mandate, and the Bill isn’t due to be introduced to the Assembly until 2026. That leaves a narrow window to get it through before the end of the mandate in 2027, and we know how easily legislation can stall, especially at Stormont.
Even if it does reach the Assembly floor, this Bill is unlikely to pass unscathed. Once it hits the committee stage, the watering-down process often begins. Clauses get softened, timelines get extended, and exemptions start to multiply. Business lobby groups have already begun circling. A number of groups representing businesses have already stressed that the bill must not be a “burden” on employers and pointed the the economic uncertainty that some businesses are already facing.
Some parties may raise legitimate concerns, particularly around the cost of compliance for small businesses, but the risk is that political caution morphs into a quiet unpicking of hard-fought gains. The strongest parts of the Bill, such as the protections against fire-and-rehire, or the extension of redundancy protections to new parents, are exactly the sorts of provisions that can be quietly weakened with a few well-placed amendments.
However, it is important to pause and reflect on the fact that much of what’s proposed is already standard in Britain or the Republic. What it represents is a long overdue catch-up. Workers in Northern Ireland have too often been left behind on basic protections. Bringing Northern Ireland into line with GB shouldn’t be controversial. That it might be says more about our political dysfunction than it does about the proposals themselves.
And yet, the Bill goes beyond just catching up. In some areas, it takes the lead by promoting sectoral bargaining, supporting a “right to disconnect”, and laying the groundwork for future improvements like paid carers leave. It signals a broader shift to the idea that we shouldn’t just settle for the bare minimum anymore. We can set a new standard where workers know their rights, where employers compete on fairness, not cost-cutting, and where the economy works for the many, not just the most vocal few.
That’s why this Bill matters. Not just for those currently trapped in insecure work, but for anyone who believes that decent jobs should be the norm, not the exception. The Minister and her predecessor, Conor Murphy, deserve credit for setting this in motion, but now the real work begins.
The Bill will need sustained public support to survive intact. Trade unions, workers’ organisations, students, carers, and everyday employees need to raise their voices loudly. If we let this moment slip, we could end up with a shell of a Bill and one that nods to fairness but delivers little change on the ground.
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