UK Unveils Bill to Boost Worker Productivity, Economy
The Government will today table amendments to the Employment Rights Bill.
- The Government will lay amendments to the Employment Rights Bill following weeks of consultation with business groups and unions.
- The Bill will support the Government’s mission to increase productivity and create the right conditions for long-term sustainable, inclusive, and secure economic growth, delivering on the Plan for Change.
- Improving workers’ rights is a key element of the government’s Plan for Change by putting more money in people’s pockets, improving working people’s day to day lives and delivering real life improvements felt by working people.
The Government will today [Tuesday 4 March] table amendments to the Employment Rights Bill following weeks of consultation and responses from business groups, trade unions and wider civil society.
These amendments demonstrate the Government’s commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure the plan to Make Work Pay is firmly pro-business and pro-worker.
Responses to five consultations ranging from zero-hours contracts to Statutory Sick Pay will also be published which show how the Government has listened to the views of stakeholders.
The Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards and create opportunities for people across the country. These amendments will deliver on the Plan for Change by tackling the low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security that has been holding the UK economy back.
This landmark Bill will extend the employment protections already given by the best British companies to millions more workers. This will put the UK back in step with competitors in other advanced economies, who are already acting to adapt to the changing world of work.
The Bill’s impact assessment, which was published last year, showed that many of the policies within the Employment Rights Bill could help support the Government’s Mission for Growth.” It concluded that that the package could have “a positive but small direct impact on economic growth” and will “help to raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.” This is the result of a pro-business, pro-worker, approach which is going to help usher in a decade of national renewal.
The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:
For too long millions of workers have been forced to face insecure, low paid and irregular work, while our economy is blighted by low growth and low productivity.
We are turning the tide – with the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, boosting living standards and bringing with it an upgrade to our growth prospects and the reforms our economy so desperately needs.
We have been working closely with businesses and workers to progress this landmark bill and deliver our Plan for Change – unleashing growth and making work pay for everyone.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
Past Governments’ low growth and low productivity economy simply did not deliver what the UK needs, which is why we are choosing stability, investment and reform, not chaos, austerity and decline. This is why our mission to grow the economy as part of our Plan for Change is based on putting more money in working people’s pockets by making wages fairer and work more secure.
Many businesses already have worker friendly practices in place and can attest to the positive impact they have on retention, productivity and job satisfaction. We want to go further and untap the UK’s full potential by attracting the best talent and giving business the confidence to hire to help the economy grow.
The amendments set out later today carefully consider different views and needs of workers, businesses and the whole economy and looks to deliver measures that support the mutual interests required to drive a growing, modern economy. We are delivering reform through our Plan for Change to create a decade of national renewal, meaning increased living standards across every part of the UK and putting politics back in the service of working people.
They come following responses received to five Government consultations:
- Application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers
All workers, including up to 900,000 agency workers in the UK, should be able to access a contract which reflects the hours they regularly work. These amendments will ensure that agency work does not become a loophole in our plans to end exploitative zero hours contracts. They will offer increased security for working people to receive reasonable notice of shifts and proportionate pay when shifts are cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice – whilst retaining the necessary flexibility for employers in how they manage their workforces.
- Strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy
The Government will increase the maximum period of the protective award from 90 days to 180 days and issue further guidance for employers on consultation processes for collective redundancies. Increasing the maximum value of the award means an Employment Tribunal will be able to grant larger awards to employees for an employer’s failure to meet consultation requirements. We want to enhance the deterrent against employers deliberately ignoring their collective consultation obligations and ensure it is not financially beneficial to do so.
- Creating a Modern Framework for Industrial Relations
The government is updating the legislative framework in which trade unions operate to align it with modern work practices. We are ensuring industrial relations are underpinned by collaboration, proportionality, accountability, and a system that balances the interests of workers, businesses and the wider public, with
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employment-rights-bill-to-boost-productivity-for-british-workers-and-grow-the-economy