Today, 3 March, the Business and Trade Committee published its report “Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill”, a comprehensive analysis of the proposed employment reforms. It follows the recent public consultation in which they gathered both oral and written evidence from employers (including HR Solutions), professional bodies and trade unions in relation to the proposed reforms and which are crucial for ensuring the Bill reflects the public’s views and achieves its intended objectives.
In this report, the Committee present their findings in clear and actionable recommendations for the Government, which will be considered in the House of Commons, and means that the Bill is one step closer to being given Royal Assent.
In reviewing the report, these are what the Committee is recommending to the Government:
- Make changes to the zero-hour contract reforms by defining how many weeks the initial and subsequent reference periods should be.
- Provide clarity on what is meant by “reasonable notice of a shift” that the employer requires (or request) the worker to work.
- Provide definitions for what is meant by “moved”, “short notice” in respect of cancelled, moved or curtailed shifts.
- For the Government to use delegated powers within the Bill to reform zero-hour contracts to enhance protections for agency workers
- Remove from the Bill the current wording in respect of zero-hour contracts “a minimum number of hours, not exceeding a specified number of hours’”. Instead, provide a definition of what is meant by “low hours”
- Proceed at pace the Government’s ambition to reform worker status to illuminate “bogus self-employment”
- For the Government to set out how it plans to regulate the sector and tackle non-compliance in the umbrella market
- Revisit how the established structures for enforcing equality law and to set out how the new Fair Work Agency will operate alongside the EHRC.
- Recommending the Government open a public consultation on the future of equality law enforcement targeting on where enforcement could be improved to better protect workers from harassment and abuse on the basis of protected characteristics
- For the Government to consider how they are to use networks of employment support that can help employers in the implementation of the reforms
- Task Acas with leading on an information campaign to raise awareness and promote compliance with best employment practice
- The Government to develop a clear and long-term industrial relations strategy
- To provide a definition of “access” in respect of the new right of union access to non-unionised workplaces
- Amend the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 to provide longer than 24 hours for complaints about the conduct of recognition ballots to be heard and addressed, on the basis that the expected consequences of the Bill may be greater recognition ballot activity.
- In respect of the right to access of a trade union on an a non-unionised workplace, develop relevant access agreement templates and better resourcing to support employers, in particular small businesses.
- Enhance transparency around industrial relations disputes by following best practices operated in other countries and that requires parties involved in a recognition ballot to disclose spend on materials, consultants and other payments
- Introduce a replacement Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS)
- Making amendments to the Modern Slavery Act to ensure better transparency and due diligence, that includes the areas of reporting to become mandatory and removing the provision that allows organisations to claim they have taken ‘no steps’ to address modern slavery.
- Introduce penalties and to name and shame companies for not disclosing modern slavery statements and to consider the creation of failure to prevent offences like those set out in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
- Align with international law by prioritising the introduction of mandatory Human Rights due diligence.
- Ensure the new Fair Work Agency is properly resourced and has effective powers to deter non-compliance.
Stay informed on Employment Rights Bill
We are running our annual virtual employment law seminar this Thursday 6 March, join us as we discuss these reforms as well as other legal developments expected this year and next.
Register for the seminar here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2770110037371719776
