Publicans set to face 'legal minefield' as Labour's free speech crackdown could ban 'offensive' Christmas songs in pubs

Belting out your favourite festive hit over a pint could soon be a thing of the past under Labour's new Employment Rights Bill.

Under the new legislation, which was passed this week, employers will be obligated to put a stop to harassment of their staff covering "all protected characteristics" such as age, disability, religion, sexual orientation or race.

The legislation also covers conversations employees can deem "offensive" if overheard in establishments - meaning Christmas sing-alongs could be victims of the "banter ban".

Detailing the impact of the legislation, Lord Young told GB News: "The Free Speech Union campaigned against clause 20 of the Employment Rights Bill, which we dubbed the 'banter ban' because of its likely impact on the hospitality sector.

"At the moment, employers are liable for the harassment of their employees by other employees under the Equality Act.

"So that's why we've seen an explosion of things like unconscious bias training, anti-racism training, trans inclusion at work, training in workplaces up and down the country.

"It's because employers want to protect themselves from being liable in the employment tribunal if they're sued by their employees for not taking all reasonable steps to prevent them being harassed by other employees."

He added: "But the Employment Rights Bill amends the Equality Act to extend that liability to the harassment of employees by third parties, i.e. customers, members of the public, and that will have a devastating impact on the hospitality sector.

"What it will mean is that employers have to take all reasonable steps to protect their employees from being harassed by customers and members of the public.

"People think harassment is quite carefully defined by the employment tribunal, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Even indirect harassment counts as harassment now, and that can include overheard conversations.

"So if a pub employee overhears a conversation between two customers who might have had a couple of beers, but which isn't directed at the employee, nevertheless, if she finds something one of the customers is saying to the other offensive by virtue of one of her protected characteristics, she can sue her employer for not taking all reasonable steps to protect her feelings from being wounded in that way.

"And that will mean pubs having to employ 'banter bouncers' to eavesdrop on the conversations of customers to make sure they're not going to say anything likely to offend a pink-haired, oversensitive snowflake barmaid."

Warning of further crackdown in public spaces, Lord Young said: "It'll mean signs on walls saying 'don't assume what my pronouns are', it may mean you have to demonstrate that you have had the full suite of diversity training before you can even get served.

"And it's not just pubs, it's bars, it's restaurants, it's football stadiums too. So if a partially sighted steward overhears a fan shouting 'are you blind?' at a linesman, the partially sighted steward could sue the football club for not taking sufficient steps to protect him from being indirectly harassed in that way by virtue of his protected characteristic, his disability, his partial sightedness.

"So every football stadium in the country will become a library as a result of this clause, not just the Prime Minister's beloved hybrid."

As Dawn stressed that it can also impact Christmas songs being sung in pubs, Lord Young agreed: "It's a nightmare for publicans.

"What will they be expected to do to limit their liability? And there's no accompanying guidance in this bill to help walk publicans through this legal minefield.

"I imagine, you know, 99 per cent of them will err on the side of caution, and that will mean no Christmas singing in pubs, it will mean a ban on telling saucy jokes in pubs.

"It may mean, I'm being serious about this, it may mean pubs having to employ 'banter bouncers' to eavesdrop on conversations and eject customers who express contentious opinions that could offend members of staff."

Expressing genuine concern for the hospitality industry and how this will affect them, Lord Young concluded: "I am seriously worried.

"Pubs in particular, the hospitality sector in general, hasn't really recovered yet from the pandemic. And pubs in particular are on their knees, particularly as younger people are drinking less than they used to.

"But according to the Campaign for Real Ale, 37 pubs are closing every week. Everyone will see pubs on their high streets, in their villages that have closed. And the reason that's happening is because they put up National Insurance, energy costs are through the roof, the highest in Europe, and this employment rights bill is going to make it worse in numerous respects.

"In particular, this banter ban I think it's going to put a lot of publicans over the top. They're going to think 'this is the straw that breaks the camel's back, I'm not going to be liable, I don't want to risk being sued in the employment tribunal by an unhappy employee because of something they overheard a customer say in the pub'. That's it, I'm closing up, that's what they'll think."

In a statement, a Government spokesman told GB News: "This is complete rubbish. The Employment Rights Act will not affect anyone's right to lawful free speech, and people will still be able to enjoy their favourite Christmas carols."

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