Ten million working people across the country will benefit from an overhaul of workers’ rights as the Government’s landmark Employment Rights Bill returns to Parliament on Monday 21 October.
The Bill will support employers, workers and unions to get Britain growing again as shown by its Impact Assessment published today, setting out how it could boost productivity, create better working conditions and move more people into secure work while improving living standards for families and communities across the UK.
The analysis shows “many of the policies within the Employment Rights Bill could help support the Government’s Mission for Growth.” It concludes that the package could have “a positive but small direct impact on economic growth” and will “help to raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.”
Poor productivity, insecure work, and broken industrial relations have been holding back the British economy for too long. Last year the country saw the highest number of working days lost to strikes since the 1980s – costing the economy millions of pounds. This has entrenched a culture of brinkmanship that only serves to damage public services, public finances, and public faith in institutions. Today is a significant step in putting an end to that – as the Employment Rights Bill reaches its second reading, alongside a package of consultations to help inform its next steps. This includes a consultation on our new approach to Statutory Sick Pay, where the Bill will be removing the waiting period and the Lower Earnings Limit.
The Bill is expected to benefit people in some of the most deprived areas of the country by saving them up to £600 in lost income from the hidden costs of insecure work. Around 2.4 million people in the UK work irregular patterns like zero or low hours contracts or agency jobs, where insecure hours can mean forking out on expensive childcare or transport to cover last-minute shifts – or losing out altogether if work is changed or cancelled at short notice.
New protections like guaranteed hours and giving reasonable notice or compensation for lost work will help shift workers keep up to £600 a year, including workers in the North and Midlands where irregular work is highest.
For a cleaner working night shifts on an average annual wage of £21,058, a £600 saving would be worth over £250 more a year than the last two national insurance cuts.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: We’re delivering real change for working people across the country, while driving our mission for growth and making people better off.
Successful firms already know that strong employee rights mean strong growth opportunities. This landmark legislation will extend the employment protections given by the best British companies to millions more workers.
We said we would get on and deliver the biggest upgrade to rights at work in a generation and the growth our economy needs – and that is exactly what we are doing.
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