Dear constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about modern employment practices.
Fairness in the workplace is a priority for the Government, from the job application process, to equal pay for equal work, and working conditions.
Ministers have already banned exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts and upgraded workers’ rights as recommended by the Taylor Review. Looking ahead, a new single enforcement body will crack down on any employer abuse of low-paid and gig economy workers. The body will also ensure workers' right to request a more predictable contract and other reasonable protections. More broadly, the flexible labour market gives our businesses a competitive advantage internationally and works for the majority of the population. However, new business models are changing working practices and I welcome that the Government intends to strengthen day one employment rights and increase the productivity of businesses. Delivering on the Government’s 2019 manifesto commitment, around 2.2 million more people will soon have the right to request flexible working. Furthermore, the Government will also introduce a day one right to one week’s unpaid leave for carers balancing a job with caring responsibilities.
Ultimately, the Taylor Review recommendations are complex, and I am glad that the Government has engaged with stakeholders. When parliamentary time will allow, legislative measures will address both the Taylor Review and the changing flexible work market that continues to develop beyond the pandemic. Any legislative reforms to employment framework need to be fully informed by stakeholder engagement and scrutiny. Therefore, Ministers have consulted in detail and have carefully considered responses.
I am aware of one-sided flexibility where some employers misuse flexible working arrangements, creating an unpredictability in working hours, income insecurity and a reluctance among workers to assert basic employment rights. As you may be aware, the Low Pay Commission published proposals, and the Government has carried out a consultation, to address this issue. The feedback is currently being reviewed; I will monitor this issue closely.
I note your frustration over the exclusion of the Employment Bill from the Queen’s Speech 2022. Indeed, the Government will reform our employment framework when Parliamentary time allows it. In the meantime, it may be useful to set out some of the reforms which have taken place as a result of the Taylor review referred to above:
In 2018, the Government responded to the independent Taylor Review, which investigated what impact modern working practices are having on the world of work. The review found that the strength of the UK’s labour market is built on flexibility but that a clearer focus is needed on quality of work as well as the quantity of jobs.
Delivering on the pledge to not just protect but build on workers’ rights, the Government set out proposals to ensure workers know their rights and receive the benefits and protections they are entitled to, and that action is taken against employers who breach workers’ rights. Alongside the proposals, the Government launched four consultations on: employment status; agency worker recommendations; increasing transparency in the labour market; and enforcement of employment rights recommendations.
The Government brought forward legislation (The Employment Rights (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019) to:
- close a loophole that had allowed agency workers to be employed on cheaper rates than permanent employees;
- extend the right to a day one written statement of rights to workers, which will include details of what paid leave they are entitled to, including sick leave and pay, and maternity and paternity leave;
- increase maximum employment tribunal fines from £5,000 to £20,000 for employers who are found to have shown malice, spite or gross oversight; and
- extend the holiday pay reference period from 12 to 52 weeks, ensuring those in seasonal or atypical roles get the paid time off they are entitled to.
The Government responded to the Labour Market Strategy set out by Sir David Metcalf, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, with detailed plans to tackle exploitation of low paid workers, including:
- bringing forward proposals for a single enforcement body to ensure vulnerable workers are better protected;
- more resource for the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate;
- creating new powers to impose penalties for employers who breach employment agency legislation like non-payment of wages;
- consulting on Salaried Hours Work and Salary Sacrifice Schemes to ensure National Minimum Wage rules do not inadvertently penalise employers;
- bringing forward legislation to enforce holiday pay for vulnerable workers; and
- consulting on the recommendations on non-compliance in supply chains.
The Government will also look to:
- encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to.
- the Government has already reformed redundancy law so companies cannot discriminate against women immediately after returning from maternity leave.
- legislate to allow parents to take extended leave for neonatal care, to support those new mothers and fathers who need it during the most vulnerable and stressful days of their lives. I have campaigned for this and was pleased to see the commitment to introduce this - Parents whose babies require neonatal care to receive paid leave under new law backed by government | Richard Fuller
- look at ways to make it easier for fathers to take paternity leave.
- extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, to a week.
The Government will bring forward legislation to deliver on these Manifesto commitments. This will balance the needs of both employers and worker to make workplaces fairer, provide better support for working families and encourage flexible working.
Thank you for getting in touch.
Sincerely,
