Stop the bill, protect common sense, save pubs

What is the Banter Bill?

The Government have included a clause in the Employment Rights Bill that means employers could be liable if employees TAKE OFFENCE at something a customer says. This will kill hospitality and the high-street, which is already on its knees.

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The Government have put forward the Employment Rights Bill which it claims will support employees from unfair employment practices by banning zero hours contracts, introducing rights to guaranteed hours, and ending unscrupulous ‘fire and rehire’ and ‘fire and replace’ practices.

Our campaign isn’t here to comment on these proposals—in fact, we agree with a lot of them! We’re here because, like any good politicians, The Government are giving with one hand and taking with the other.

Clause 18 of the bill says: “An employer must not permit a third party to harass a person who is an employee” and that harassment took place if the employer “failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so.” A third party here is someone who isn’t another employee or the employer—i.e., customers.

Now you may be thinking… what if someone is being sexually harassed or intimidated? We think employers should take reasonable steps to stop that. Fortunately, Clause 19 covers sexual harassment legally—it’s scoped out with clear boundaries. So, what’s left? Non-sexual harassment. It’s essentially offence. If any employee overhears something a customer says and finds it offensive, they can prosecute their employer.

Every landlord we’ve spoken to says it’s both dangerous and impractical. Landlords don’t want to become the Thought Police. There’s a common law power that lets landlords exclude people from pubs—they know the line of acceptability and when to act. But Clause 18 doesn’t even define “reasonable steps”—suggestions include risk assessments and posters. Imagine you’re a landlord pouring a pint, and someone says something potentially offensive across the pub. How do you hear it? How do you stop it? You might even agree, but if a staff member takes offence, you’re liable.

This plays out in shops, cafes, and anywhere customers could cause offence. If you, as a customer, were told you couldn’t express an opinion, would you still go to your local pub or shop? The high-street and hospitality sector have been struggling for years. Could this be the final nail in the coffin?

Scroll down to see how you can stop this!

How Do I Stop This?

Email your local MP: Click here to use our tool

Print out this poster to give to your local landlord: [To come]

Find us on X, retweet this post, tag your local MP: [To come]

Email Your MP

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We’re launching a multi-media campaign and lobbying MPs and Lords. The bill is due for its final debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday 11th March and Wednesday 12th March 2025. The Opposition will propose an amendment to remove Clause 18 entirely. In the email tool above, we ask MPs to vote for this motion. But with Labour’s majority, it’ll likely fail.

If your MP is Labour, we also ask them to tell their Whip: “I’m voting with the Government through gritted teeth—this clause is wrong, please remove it.” We hope Labour will quietly drop it before the Lords. If not, we’ll fight in the Lords with the Free Speech Union. Their founder, Lord Toby Young, will propose an amendment to kill Clause 18. We’ll push peers to vote for it and raise awareness with exciting events—watch this space!