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After a torrid few weeks, Labor now has the opportunity to take the lead and deliver on a major election promise.
The government will keep its promise to introduce workers' rights legislation within 100 days.
But in some cases, employees will have to wait almost 1,000 days to benefit from new rights.
The new jobs bill, due to be released on Thursday, will reportedly be 150 pages long.
But despite the length, many devilish details have yet to be decided.
Keir Starmer's “changed” Labor Party has promised to be both pro-worker and pro-business.
Trying to achieve this balance will require further consultation on some of the key elements of the bill.
Behind the scenes, a series of “round tables” took place involving ministers, union officials – and sometimes their leaders – and business groups.
But one participant told the BBC that while there had been engagement with a wide range of groups, there had been little real consultation.
This legislation – as Labor has promised – will represent the biggest improvement in workers' rights in a generation.
To be fair, this demand could be honored simply by abolishing Tory legislation requiring minimum turnout for strike votes and minimum service levels during industrial action.
But many new measures will not be introduced quickly.
The bill itself is not expected to pass until June or July of next year.
Consultations will continue on some issues beyond this – with changes subsequently implemented in secondary legislation.
And the new rights to challenge unfair dismissal will not come into force until autumn 2026.
A business group told the BBC it would continue to make its case during consultation periods: “there will still be a fight, but the fight has been postponed.”
Trial period
Unions have demanded – and will obtain – new rights for workers from day one on the job.
This includes the right to sick pay, parental leave and redress in the event of unfair dismissal.
The Federation of Small Businesses has stressed that it is likely its members – rather than larger businesses – who will find this new regime the most difficult to manage.
They do not have large HR departments and may struggle to cover staff absences.
The small business group will continue to argue that anything that makes hiring new workers riskier will be bad for growth.
Politically, this will make it harder for Labor to claim that it is now the party of business and not just the unions.
Thus, even if there will be a right of appeal in the event of unfair dismissal from the first day of work, the compromise found by the government is a “legal trial period”, during which it will be easier for employers to dismiss “fairly” someone than he would. be after the trial period has expired.
There would be a “lower bar” for employers, a source close to the discussions said.
The duration of the probationary period would be between six and 12 months – the precise duration being to be determined during a consultation period.
Companies are calling for longer – and at least one union is calling for no trial period at all.
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Demonstrators outside Parliament to protest P&O ferry employment practices
Zero hour contracts
There are other areas where attempts to be both business and worker friendly will be put to the test.
There will be an ongoing debate over the proposal to ban “exploitative” zero-hours contracts.
The government's plan is that once an employee establishes a regular working pattern over a 12-week period, the employer would be obliged to offer them a regular employment contract.
Workers who prefer zero hours could refuse – there will be no obligation to accept.
Some business groups would prefer it to be a “right to ask” rather than an obligation.
The Unite union is not happy because it believes the word “exploitative” will be used as a cop-out by some companies.
And Unite is also concerned that the practice of “firing and rehiring” – getting rid of workers and rehiring them on lower pay and/or conditions – will still be permitted in exceptional circumstances.
The union calls this a “bad bosses’ charter”.
But for some businesses, they will argue that new restrictions could make them unviable – and that lower wages are better than no jobs for workers.
Too difficult?
A whole host of measures flagged up in Labour's pre-election 'Making Work Pay' document – the supposed bill – have been categorized as 'too difficult' for now.
This includes measures to make it easier to ensure equal pay between internal staff and “outsourced” staff who carry out similar tasks in public services.
There was also a commitment to creating a “single worker status” – partly to protect people who are technically self-employed but in fact work largely for an employer but with fewer rights than employees.
This issue is considered legally complex and will be addressed separately from Thursday's legislation.
And the “right to turn off” phones, emails, and text messages at the end of the workday won’t necessarily be a “right” after all.
Instead, it is likely that the government will ask employers to come up with “a code of conduct”. The measure will not be in the bill.
When the bill is unveiled, Labor hopes the dissenting voices – from Unite on one side to the Federation of Small Businesses on the other – will be drowned out by the noise of approval from most unions.
Many will welcome a rebalancing of the relationship between employer and employee.
But when the applause subsides, many arguments will continue behind closed doors for several months.
And it is unclear who will triumph at the end of the long consultation periods.
But for now, Labor is hoping that the mere existence of new legislation will indicate that the party intends to deliver on its promise of “change”.
