Labour introduced its flagship Employment Rights Bill to the Commons today (10th October). Granting employees access to rights earlier in their employment is at the heart of the reform to drive growth in the economy by supporting more people into secure work.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “This government is delivering the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation, boosting pay and productivity with employment laws fit for a modern economy.”
Rayner went onto say: “Our plans to make work pay will deliver security in work as the foundation for boosting productivity and growing our economy to make working people better off and realise our potential.”
As a responsible employer, we support change that will enhance worker protection and we hope initiatives such as the new Fair Work Agency will add a valuable contribution to the industry, driving compliance standards and preventing the non-compliance that causes so much harm to business, the economy and the workforce. There is speculation regarding how quickly the Bill will pass into law, though June/July next year is predicated with consultation on many of the proposals needed beyond this date.
Alongside the Employment Rights Bill, government has published a "Next Steps to Make Work Pay Plan" which outlines their vision and long-term plans to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all. It will be important to have our say, which is why we welcome the promise of a consultative approach to these initiatives. We will closely monitor government consultations to feed in our experience and knowledge of the sector. Any new legislation needs to be clear and ideally, increasingly tailored to our industry.
