UK

Ministers step up bid to end 'exploitative' zero-hours contracts

Sky News
Tue 17 September 2024 


Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, will hold talks with union bosses and business leaders on Wednesday as the government pursues its ambition of ending "exploitative" zero-hours contracts.

Sky News understands that Ms Rayner, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Justin Madders, the employment rights minister, will meet representatives of major business groups including the CBI and FSB as part of Labour's 'Make Work Pay' reforms.

Sources said it would provide a forum for ministers to outline further details of their plans amid a growing backlash from the private sector.

Officials from the TUC, Unite and USDAW, the shopworkers' union, will be among those in attendance, according to one insider.

Figures suggest that the number of workers on zero-hours contracts has risen over the last decade to more than one million.

The government has argued that the level of insecurity they create leaves workers in a vulnerable position.

"It cannot be right that someone on a zero-hours contract can have their shift cancelled at the last minute on the bus to work," a government source said.

Ministers are expected to say that the government does not intend to ban zero-hours contracts altogether, with students and carers able to remain working on such terms if they are offered guaranteed hours.

The government has held a series of roundtable meetings with bosses in recent weeks, pledging that the private sector would be able to have its say on the reforms "at every stage".

MakeUK and U Hospitality will be among the other business groups represented at Wednesday's talks.




Jacob Rees-Mogg’s attacks on working from home were ‘bizarre’, says Labour

Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor
Tue 17 September 2024 at 2:08 am GMT-6·3-min read


Reynolds says flexible working proposals could reduce regional inequality and contribute to productivity.Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA


The business secretary has defended Labour’s plans to introduce new flexible working laws, calling it “bizarre” that Jacob Rees-Mogg had launched a “war on people working from home”.

The comments by Jonathan Reynolds come as he and the communities secretary, Angela Rayner, attempt to thrash out the final details of the workers’ rights legislation in time for the employment bill that is expected to be introduced in the first fortnight of October.

One area of contention is day-one rights, which Labour intends to introduce to give people the right to sick leave, maternity pay and the right to sue for unfair dismissal from day one of their employment, rather than after a longer period.

Rayner is understood to believe that probation periods should still apply but should remain at the industry norm of three to six months. There are pressures from senior industry figures, however, to allow longer probation periods of up to a year. The issue is reportedly a source of tension between Rayner and Reynolds.

Reynolds said in an interview with the Times on Tuesday that he would press ahead with key changes to flexible working laws, which he said could reduce regional inequality and contribute to productivity. He said the minimum wage should also be increased in order to guarantee “a decent quality of life”.

Among the changes the government has pledged to bring in are a ban on the use of zero-hours contracts, apart from when an employee specifically requests one; making flexible working the default; ending restrictions on trade union organising; and ending fire-and-rehire policies. The bill was promised to come within 100 days, which means it should be tabled before the October budget.

Reynolds said there was no reason for anyone to object to working from home as long as it was managed well. “We’ve had flexible working laws for quite some time in the UK. I think where people reach agreement with their employer … it does contribute to productivity, it does contribute to their resilience, their ability to stay working for an employer.”

Related: ‘Condescending’: Jacob Rees-Mogg leaves notes for WFH civil servants

He added: “The UK has very significant regional inequality. It could play a significant contribution to tackling that.”

Reynolds said he had been alarmed at the Conservatives’ approach to working from home, especially in the civil service. He said: “Jacob Rees-Mogg made this big thing as business secretary, declaring war on people working from home. That’s pretty bizarre given the economic position the country was in and the real business agenda that needs to be pursued.”

He said that for employers there was “genuinely nothing to worry about” regarding plans to introduce the right for employees to disconnect, meaning they cannot be contacted outside work hours.

“Good employers understand that their workforce, to keep them motivated and resilient, they do need to judge people on outcomes and not a culture of presenteeism,” he said.