Committees

Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill

Inquiry

The newly re-formed Business and Trade Committee is launching its first call for evidence on the Government’s new flagship Employment Rights Bill.

The new Government has announced a comprehensive overhaul of employment law in what it is calling the ‘biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.’  The ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ sets out the Government’s agenda to boost wages, reduce insecure work and grow Britain’s economy. 

The wide-ranging Bill currently passing through Parliament (you can track its progress here) sets out to: 

  • Ban exploitative zero-hours contracts 
  • End ‘Fire and Rehire’ and ‘Fire and Replace’ 
  • Make parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal a day one right 
  • Strengthen statutory sick pay 
  • Make flexible working the default from day one 
  • Strengthen protections for pregnant women and new mothers returning to work  
  • Strengthen protections from sexual harassment at work 
  • Strengthen legislation around the allocation of tips 
  • Strengthen protections around collective redundancy 
  • Introduce a new right to bereavement leave 
  • Establish a new Single Enforcement Body, called the Fair Work Agency 
  • Establish Fair Pay Agreements in the adult social care sector 
  • Reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body 
  • Upgrade Trade Union legislation

The Committee is launching this inquiry, which will take written and oral evidence with a view to informing the later stages of the Bill’s passage through Parliament, to help assess whether it will achieve these aims. Areas to consider include: 

  • How the Bill will contribute to the Government’s stated goal of achieving the fastest growth in the G7.
  • Whether the Employment Rights Bill will adequately protect workers, improve security at work and raise living standards in every part of the country.
  • The impact the Bill will have on businesses, in particular investment rates, start-up rates, the supply of labour and the employment rate.
  • How to ensure adequate protection against exporting poor labour standards, including concerns over forced labour in international supply chains.

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:59pm on 6 December 2024.

Upcoming events

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No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 14 January 2025
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill - Oral evidence 14 January 2025
2:30pm
  • Andy Brown (Chief People Officer at Frasers Group)
  • Neil Carberry (Chief Executive at Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC))
  • Mr Paddy Lillis (General Secretary at Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW))
3:30pm
  • Paul Bedford (Group Director of Policy and Sustainability at Deliveroo)
  • Hugo Martin (Director of Legal and Public Affairs at Evri)
  • Alessandro Dudech (UK Chief Operating Officer at Uniqlo)
Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 7 January 2025
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill - Oral evidence 7 January 2025
2:30pm
  • Alistair Macrow (CEO at McDonalds, UK and Ireland)
  • Claire Lorains (Group Quality, Technical and Sustainability Director at Tesco)
  • Andrew Opie (Director of Food and Sustainability at The British Retail Consortium)
3:30pm
  • Yinan Zhu (EMEA General Counsel at SHEIN)
  • Stephen Heary (Senior Legal Counsel at Temu)
  • Leonard Klenner (Senior Compliance Manager at Temu)
4:30pm
  • Eleanor Lyons (UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner)
  • Margaret Beels OBE (Director of Labour Market Enforcement at Department for Business and Trade)
Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 17 December 2024
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill - Oral evidence 17 December 2024
2:30pm
  • Nicola Smith (Director of Policy at Trades Union Congress (TUC))
  • Amanda Gearing (Senior Organiser at GMB Union)
3:15pm
  • Matthew Percival (Director, Future of Work and Skills at Confederation of British Industry (CBI))
  • Ben Willmott (Head of Public Policy at Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD))
4:00pm
  • Stuart Morgan (HR Director at Amazon Logistics)
  • Jennifer Kearney (HR Director at Amazon UK and Ireland)
4:45pm
  • Dominic Johnson (Director of Employee Relations and Policy at BAE Systems)
  • Beverley Fairbank (Industrial Relations and HR Director at Jaguar Land Rover)
  • Murray Paul (Public Affairs Director at Jaguar Land Rover)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster

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