Opposition to Clause 20 of the Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill—nicknamed the banter ban—is being spearheaded by Lord (Toby) Young of the Free Speech Union.
Now before Britain’s unelected second chamber, the House of Lords, the legislation will go to Committee Stage from April 29th.
The new law would require employers to protect staff from third-party “non-sexual harassment.” Critics point out that this would likely include overhead private conversations, which could hypothetically touch on politics and public controversies, from which employees such as bar staff would then require protection (with litigation and legal costs as the price of failure).
In contrast, Lord Young’s proposed amendments would mean:
- “the definition of ‘harassment’ cannot include conversation or speech involving the expression of an opinion on a political, moral, religious or social matter, provided the opinion is not indecent or grossly offensive,”
- that the banter ban should not apply to employers in the hospitality sector, sports venues, or higher education settings.
