The Employment Rights Bill aims to put an end to exploitative zero-hour contracts. The bill introduces a requirement for employers to offer workers, on zero-hour or low hour contracts, the ability to move to guaranteed hours. Workers who are offered guaranteed hours will still have the option to remain on zero-hour or low-hour contracts if they wish to do so.
From a worker perspective, this will hopefully strike a better balance, allowing those who truly wish to have high levels of flexibility to continue benefitting from this, but providing a greater level of security for those who wish for more predictability and stability from their work life. For employers which rely heavily on flexible contracts, this change may prove operationally challenging as they will likely have to factor in a greater level of planning.
The bill did not address the right to disconnect, also known as the right to switch off, which would restrict employers from contacting their employees with work correspondence outside of their contracted working hours. The government will, however, bring this right forward through a statutory Code of Practice which will be delivered alongside the bill’s passage through Parliament. Labour has mentioned previously that this will likely mirror the right to disconnect that exists in countries such as Ireland, where the focus lies on ensuring an employee is not routinely expected to perform work outside of their normal working hours, as opposed to prohibiting one-off situations where it may be necessary to contact workers.
The national living wage will also be extended to cover all adult employees. The government will remove the age bands currently in place to ensure that every adult employee is entitled to the same minimum wage. The government’s powers to do so are already in place and this measure does not require legislation or inclusion in the bill. Many worry about the impact this additional cost will have on businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Ultimately, it is about asking ourselves if we believe that business success is contingent on fostering positive work conditions and happy, highly engaged employees.
Amanda Glover is an associate solicitor and Jesse Akiwumi is a trainee solicitor in the employment team at Clarkslegal
