The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called on the government to consider amendments to the Employment Rights Bill that would make the new measures “more workable and pragmatic” for local shops.
In a letter to new Business Secretary Peter Kyle MP, the trade body urged ministers to back changes proposed by peers in the House of Lords.
These include defining ‘short notice’ for shift cancellations as less than 48 hours and changing a requirement to offer guaranteed hours into a right for employees to request guaranteed hours.
The Bill, first published in October 2024, set out 28 employment reforms aimed at meeting the government’s manifesto commitment to ‘make work pay’.
Measures set to be introduced in the Employment Rights Bill include:
- Ending exploitative zero hours contracts
- Giving greater protections against unfair dismissal from day one of employment
- Day one rights for paternity, parental and bereavement leave for workers
- Changing the law to make flexible working the default for all, unless the employer can prove it’s unreasonable
- Requiring employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent third-party harassment in the workplace
- Requiring reasonable notice for shift changes
In the letter, the ACS described the flexibility and security that convenience stores provide to the 443,000 people who work in the sector.
Figures from the 2025 ACS Colleague Survey found 96% of people working in the sector have a permanent contract, with 53% contracted to work full time hours. Almost three quarters (72%) of colleagues have never had a shift cancelled.
ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “We welcome the protections that the Employment Rights Bill provides workers, but it must also be pragmatic for convenience retailers running a business. There is widespread support in the business community for amendments put forward by the Lords that would ensure that the Bill is both pro-worker and pro-business, and we encourage the Business Secretary to consider supporting them in Parliament.”
The Bill has almost completed its journey through Parliament, with final amendments being considered before the Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes law.
The ACS gave evidence to a parliamentary committee on the Bill in November 2024, urging the government to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy at a time when retailers are under pressure to make their businesses as productive as possible.
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