The Government’s Employment Rights Bill is yet to be published in full but the initial announcement states 28 individual employment reforms. Reports suggest the consultation and implementation period for all reforms will take up to two years.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said:
“Worker security is vital to any growth agenda and data shows happy workers are more productive.
However, employment reforms must be proportionate and avoid growth, inhibiting unintended consequences, such as making businesses feel wary of taking on new staff or growing. This is especially true for smaller businesses because they train forty percent of apprentices and give workers the first step on their career path.
In construction, eighty percent of apprentices are trained by SMEs.
The Government must take time to understand the employer’s perspective, specifically what holds back investment and direct employment. In construction, almost one million workers are self-employed because planning, procurement and payment regulations make work pipelines uncertain, cash flow unpredictable and forward planning impossible. Unless we fix these and other growth inhibitors, the reach of their employment rights reforms will be limited.”
The following proposed reforms have been announced:
- Give protection against unfair dismissal from day one, while allowing employers to operate probation periods
- Establish parental and bereavement leave from day one.
- End exploitative zero-hour contracts but retaining workers’ rights to stay on them.
- End fire and rehire and fire and replace.
- Make flexible working the norm where practical.
- Deliver stronger dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.
- Establish a new Fair Work Agency with new powers to enforce holiday pay.
The Government has also announced an intent to consult on:
- A Right to Switch Off which prevents employees from being contacted out of hours, except in exceptional circumstances.
- Expanding the Equality (Race and Disparity) Bill to make it mandatory for large employers to report ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
- A move towards a single status of worker and setting clear boundaries between employees and genuinely self-employed contractors
- Reviews into the parental leave and carers leave systems.
