How does a Bill become a law?

I am often asked “how does a Bill become a law?”, so I have prepared this short note to explain the process.

Bills are draft laws, and they start either in the House of Commons or in the House of Lords. As you will see, it can be a lengthy process for a draft law to be debated, the wording amended, and for the Bill to become the new law.

For a Bill which starts in the House of Commons there are several stages, which are mirrored at a later stage in the House of Lords. Unless it is a piece of emergency legislation, then it is often introduced simultaneously in both the House of Lords and in the House of Commons.

1. First Reading

There is the First Reading – where the Bill is published as a House of Commons paper for the first time.

2. Second Reading

Then there is a Second Reading at which the Government minister, spokesperson or MP responsible for the Bill opens the Second Reading debate.

The official Opposition spokesperson will have the opportunity to respond.

There is then a continued debate at which Opposition parties and the backbench MP’s – those who sit in the back benches of the House of Commons, and who do not hold a government office – provide their opinions.

At the end of the debate, there is a vote in the House of Commons when it is decided whether the Bill should be given its Second Reading so that it can proceed to the next stage.

3. Committee Stage

If the Bill proceeds to the Committee Stage – this is where it gets really interesting and each part of the draft legislation (each clause) is considered – proposals are put forward to amend (to change) the Bill.

The proposed amendments are published each day. The Bill – which will invariably have been amended from the first draft – is then reprinted before the next stage.

4. Report Stage

It then returns to the floor of the House of Commons for its Report Stage where the amended Bill could be debated and further amendments proposed.

There is no set time period between the end of Committee Stage and the start of the Report Stage

All MPs are allowed to speak and vote, and debate often takes place over several days for more complicated Bills.

5. Third Reading

The Report Stage is usually followed immediately by a debate on the Bill’s Third Reading. This is usually short. Amendments cannot be made to a Bill at the Third Reading in the House of Commons.

Following the debate, the House of Commons then votes on whether to approve the Third Reading of the Bill.

6. House of Lords

If approved, then the Bill is then sent to the House of Lords, who carry out the same steps: First Reading, Second Reading, Committee Stage, Report Stage and the Third Reading.

7. Consideration of amendments

It is then sent back to the House of Commons to consider amendments from the House of Lords. If there have been no amendments in the Lords, then the Bill is sent to the Queen for Royal Assent.

8. Royal Assent

After a Bill has completed all of the Parliamentary stages in both houses it must then have Royal Assent before it becomes an Act of Parliament, by which I mean a law.

The new legislation can commence on a specific date in the future – usually set by a government minister. If there is no listed commencement order then the Act will come into force from midnight at the start of the day of the Royal Assent. ■

The Workforce Information Bill

On 3rd February 2020, Lord Shinkwin introduced a private member’s bill – The Workforce Information Bill – to make provision for certain employers to be required to publish information about differences in pay relative to protected characteristics.

The Bill proposes an amendment to the Equality Act 2010 for the Secretary of State to provide regulations for employers to publish annually information relating to –

■ the pay of employees for the purpose of showing whether there are differences in pay between persons who differ in respect of particular protected characteristics;

■ the total number and percentage of employees who disclose one or more protected characteristics; and

■ for employer’s with 250 employees to provide disaggregated data for each of the protected characteristics.

The Bill also proposes that failure to comply with the regulations is to be punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently £5,000); or to be enforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Lord Shinkwin has expressed the need to have equality of opportunity for race and disability and other protected characteristics.

The next stage in the progress of the Bill is for a Second Reading. The date of the Second Reading is to be confirmed. ■

The Employment (Dismissal and Re-Employment) Bill 2019-21

You may not have heard of the Employment (Dismissal and Re-Employment) Bill 2019-21. It is a private members bill introduced by Gavin Newlands MP, who is the Scottish National Party MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, who holds the role of shadow SNP spokesperson for transport.

The Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons on 9 June 2020 and it is scheduled to receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 10 July 2020.

The details of the Bill have not been published and indeed the text of the bill itself has not been published either. However, Mr Newlands has explained that the idea for the Bill came about in response to the threat to the aviation sector in his constituency. His comments were specifically pointed at British Airways, where he referred to their firing and rehiring plans of tens of thousands of workers, which he described as horrendous.

His petition states that many workers in the airline industry are currently under threat of being dismissed from their posts and then being rehired on lesser terms and conditions and salary. The petition notes that most other European countries have legislation in place to prevent such mistreatment and to protect workers from management abuse and threats, benefitting both employees and the wider economy. Note is made not only of the volume of correspondence being received by Members’ offices regarding reports of this practice at British Airways, but also that the Bill aims to protect workers from management abuse.

The aim of the Bill is to prohibit employers from dismissing employees and subsequently re-employing them for the purpose of diminishing the terms and conditions of employment.

When the Bill was mentioned in the House of Commons the Prime Minister said: “I will of course study the Bill … I will cause it to be studied… we will continue to ensure that no one is penalised for doing the right thing to beat this virus”. 1

It will be interesting to see whether and how this private members bill progresses because as employers in both the private and public sector continue to seek to make reductions in pay and benefits, the aggressive approach of dismissing staff and offering to re-engage them on inferior terms and conditions may become illegal. ■

1. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-06-23/ debates/7E464B41-46ED-4FA9-BAFD-28EC7B3DA230/ Covid-19Update?highlight=employment%20dismissal%2 re-employment%20bill#contribution-BCD45BDC-08FB- 4CFE-9D5C-57FFCC27AC20