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The British government is expected to tighten its workers’ rights reforms to guarantee that “thug employers” cannot operate the shortcomings in the legislation, an intermediary committee of deputies said on Monday.
The current package, because it leaves the key details to decide in a subsequent regulation, “undermines the certainty that the reforms aim to make” and puts the parliament “at risk of signing a check for regulatory white”, warned the Commercial and Commercial Committee.
More specifically, the ministers had to be more explicit in the law on the way in which the prohibition of zero hour operating contracts would work and ensure that all employees have qualified for new rights at regular work hours and remuneration when the quarter of work has been canceled. There should also be more details on new rights for unions, he added.
The Committee also called on the government to accelerate workers’ status reforms – a measure intended to prevent independent false work – which is not included in the bill, and said that clear plans were necessary to finance the new Fair work agency which will apply workers’ rights.
The ministers will publish this week changes to the bill on employment rights before the next stage of the parliamentary process.
Business groups have put pressure on changes to soften the impact of legislation – which encompasses a set of radical reforms designed to give workers more security and increase the role of unions.
“We know that affairs are concerned about the increase in employment costs,” said committee president Liam Byrne. “But we have also taken evidence of the abuse of workers who frankly horrified us.”
The committee said he had proven evidence from McDonald’s, while new claims have emerged from sexual misconduct in his labor market; had received dozens of complaints concerning the poor work practices of mail from the EVRI delivery company; And heard how the Direct Sports Channel of Frasers Group had abandoned the previous promises to reduce its dependence on the workers of the agency.
The Committee’s appeal to a stricter approach contrast to the requests of employers, who fear that their warnings in the potential costs of legislation – more and more tax increases and minimum wages – fall into the deaf ear.
Government figures previously pointed out that they were planning to make changes to the bill to respond to practical concerns – for example, to ensure that major employers do not have to continually consult workers on layoffs on various sites if they were not linked.
But unions are increasingly convinced that the substance of reforms – including the introduction of the first protection against unfair dismissal, a repression on the use of tactics “fire and rehiring” to retrograde employment contracts, and the inclusion of agency workers in the prohibition of zero -hour contracts – will remain intact.
The lobbyists have urged ministers to resist the call to define the measures in more detail now.
Matthew Percival, director of Future of Work at the CBI, said that companies wanted to “avoid locking details. . . This could be better decided by an appropriate dialogue “, adding that” the postponement of these details to secondary legislation could create the time to identify compromises “.
Neil Carberry, director general of the Confederation Recruitment & Employment, who represents agencies, said that the government should “take the time to speak and do things well” rather than continue with a pre -electoral agreement with unions which were “short of potential details and damage”.
Evri said that it was “proud” to offer his letters independent work terms with “greater protection and advantages”, including pensions, holidays and disease wages, adding that couriers had many ways to raise concerns, which would be the subject of an investigation.
McDonald’s said that he had “undertaken in -depth work in the past year to ensure that we have implemented advanced practices to support security” and that “any incident of misconduct and harassment is unacceptable and subject to investigation and rapid and in -depth action”.
The Frasers group refused to comment.
Additional report by Anna Gross and Madeleine Speed
