Reform UK presents itself as the party of ordinary working people. Their voting record tells a different story.
When Parliament passed the Employment Rights Act — the most significant expansion of workers’ protections in a generation — all Reform UK MPs voted against it at every stage. The Act introduced guaranteed hours for zero-hours workers, sick pay from day one, protection from unfair dismissal from day one, and a ban on fire and rehire practices that allowed employers to cut pay and conditions by threatening staff with the sack.
These are not fringe demands. A TUC poll found that more than two thirds of people who voted Reform in 2024 support banning zero hours contracts. Nearly two thirds support giving all workers sick pay from day one. Reform’s MPs voted against both — defying their own voters in the process.
Reform’s position isn’t just about opposing Labour’s reforms. The party has pledged to repeal the Employment Rights Act in its entirety — stripping away day-one paternity leave, sick pay from the first day of illness, and protections against exploitative zero-hours contracts.
Richard Tice has also stated that Reform’s ambition to cut the state to 35% of GDP would require public spending cuts of nearly £300 billion — without specifying where those cuts fall. Independent analysis suggests public sector workers and services would bear the brunt.
This isn’t a one-off. Reform’s approach to employment follows a consistent logic: weaker regulation, less protection, more power to employers. They dress it up as cutting red tape and backing business. What it means in practice is longer hours, less security, and fewer rights for the people who work for a living.
As HOPE not Hate’s Director of Campaigns Georgie Laming said: “Nigel Farage is trying to pull the wool over our eyes. His party voted against the Employment Rights Bill, against sick pay and protection from day one, and against banning the worst zero-hour hiring practices. Reform UK is no friend of the workers.”
The evidence backs that up — in black and white, in the division lobbies of the House of Commons.