Back in the Summer of 2017, the Taylor Report (otherwise known as “Good Work: the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices”) was published setting out a long list of recommendations to improve employment rights, particularly for those working in the “gig-economy”, such as agency workers and those on zero hours contracts. For a summary of the recommendations, take a look at our previous blog Matthew Taylor into modern working practices and procedures.
Good Work Plan
In response to the Report, the Government has now published details of the reforms they intend to make to employment law legislation in their Good Work Plan. The reforms follow three broad themes: fair and decent work, clarity for employers and fairer enforcement. They have been described by the Government as “the biggest package of workplace reforms for over 20 years”.
The Governments started to roll out the changes by laying before Parliament the first three sets of draft regulations on 17 December 2018. Between them, if approved, these regulations will introduce the following changes from 6 April 2020:
- Agency workers will have the right to receive the same amount of pay as permanent staff members after 12 weeks.
- A “Statement of Rights” must be provided to all employees on or before their first day of employment. Currently, this should be provided within two months. This statement will need to include eligibility for paid leave.
- The reference period for determining an average week’s pay for calculating holiday pay will increase from 12 weeks to 52 weeks of employment.
In addition, from 6 April 2019, the maximum penalty that can be awarded for an aggravated breach of employment law will increase from £5,000 to £20,000. This will be considered in Employment Tribunal cases where the tribunal deems that an employer has acted with “malice, spite or gross oversight“.
Commenting on the Plan, Greg Clark, Business Secretary, said:
“Today’s largest upgrade in workers’ rights in over a generation is a key part of building a labour market that continues to reward people for hard work that celebrates good employers and is boosting productivity and earning potential across the UK.”
Comment
Recent Employment Tribunal cases considering the rights of casual workers and those labelled as self-employed have brought into focus the need for greater clarity for employers and those that carry out work for them. It is encouraging that the Good Work Plan sets out the Government’s intention to address the current inconsistencies, not just by tackling them one at a time, but by taking a more comprehensive approach.
The draft legislation that has been introduced so far is only the beginning, further changes such as a right to request predictable working hours and more clarity around employment status, are in the pipeline. With the current draft regulations set to come into effect as of April 2020, this is not something that is going to see the workplace transformed overnight. However, as more of the Good Work Plan is introduced, employers will need to carefully consider the employment rights of all of those that work for them to ensure that they remain compliant.
How Can Nelsons Help?
Laura Kearsley
is a specialist Employment Law Partner at Nelsons.
For more information on the subjects discussed above, please contact Laura or another member of our Employment Law team on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.