Casual and zero-hour workers will be entitled to day-one rights including holiday and sick pay under new reforms.
The government has announced a raft of improvements that address the challenge of the changing world of work in the modern economy.
The ‘Good Work plan’ is the government’s response to the independent Taylor Review that investigated the impact of modern working practices. It has set out proposals to ensure workers know their rights and receive the benefits and protections they are entitled to. It will also see that action is taken against employers who breach workers’ rights.
The proposals include: enforcing holiday and sick pay for the first time; introducing a new right to a payslip for all – including casual and zero-hour workers; and all workers will have a right to request a more stable contract.
There will also be a focus on protecting workers’ rights by ensuring that unpaid interns are not doing the job of a worker; introducing a naming scheme for employers who fail to pay employment tribunal awards, and quadrupling employment tribunal fines for employers showing malice, spite or gross oversight to £20,000.
In addition, there will be changes to agency worker rules to ensure that these workers are paid fairly, and businesses will be given more support to understand their duties, including clarifying the definition of ‘working time’ for flexible workers.
‘We want to embrace new ways of working, and to do so we will be one of the first countries to prepare our employment rules to reflect the new challenges,’ said Business Secretary Greg Clark. ‘We will take forward Matthew Taylor’s recommendations and commit to pursuing the quality of work as well as number of jobs.’
‘The ‘Good Work plan’ puts the UK at the front of the pack in addressing the challenges and opportunities of modern ways of working, it is an important part of the Industrial Strategy and will enhance our business environment as one of the best places to work, invest and do business,’ added Clark.
To inform these changes the government has launched several public consultations:• Enforcement of employment rights recommendations• Agency workers recommendations• Increasing transparency in the labour market• Employment status.
