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1327320

registered interest
date	24/05/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) agency workers and (b) other workers are treated fairly, respectfully and that their rights are protected.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	6369
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to protecting and enhancing workers’ rights, including for agency workers. In the past year the Government has taken a variety of actions to support workers. These include increasing the National Living Wage for around 2 million workers, extending eligibility for the minimum wage to thousands of seafarers, enabling workers to carry over more annual leave due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ensured that those made redundant after a period of furlough do not lose out on redundancy pay, increasing the reference period employers use to calculate holiday pay to improve seasonal workers’ wages, and ensuring that prospective parents who are furloughed do not lose out on maternity pay entitlements and other forms of parental pay.</p><p>The Government has also introduced additional protections for agency workers. From 6 April 2020 the Government banned the use of ‘Swedish Derogation’ contracts, ensuring agency workers cannot opt out of their right to equal pay with permanent counterparts after the twelve-week qualifying period in the same role with the same hirer. We have also introduced the requirement for employment businesses to give new agency workers a Key Information Document to improve transparency around pay. The Government has also committed to extend the remit of the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate, which enforces agency workers’ rights, so that they can investigate relevant complaints involving umbrella companies and seek compliance from them. EAS has also doubled the number of frontline inspector roles.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 02/06/2021 15:29:25 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1121730

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent employers (a) firing and (b) rehiring employees by changing employment contracts.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	245890
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>On 17 December 2018 we published the Good Work Plan, which sets out our vision for the future of the labour market and our ambitious plan for implementing the recommendations arising from the Taylor Review. This important package represents the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in over 20 years and demonstrates how we are leading the way internationally to ensure workers have access to the rights and protections they deserve in the context of a changing world of work.</p><p> </p><p>Successive governments have introduced a legal framework which ensures that employers should always treat their employees fairly.</p><p> </p><p>In general, the terms and conditions of employment are for negotiation and agreement between employers and employees (or their representatives). Once agreed, however, they form a legally binding contract of employment. While it is always open to either party to seek to renegotiate the terms of the contract, if the employer changes any of the terms without the employee’s agreement, the employee may be entitled to seek legal redress.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, employees who consider that their dismissal was unfair can complain to an employment tribunal, generally subject to a qualifying period of continuous service.</p><p> </p><p>Both employers and employees are strongly encouraged to follow the guidance available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/your-employment-contract-how-it-can-be-changed when considering changing their terms and conditions of employment.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 30/04/2019 09:39:33 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

674923

registered interest
date	18/01/2017
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) small, (b) medium-sized and (c) large businesses that have fired and rehired employees in accord with his Department's guidance on changing an employment contract in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	60570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2017 answer text <p>Government does not collect information on terminated and re-instated employment contracts. Employment contracts and contractual changes are a matter for the individual and the employer to agree, but they must comply with the legal framework.</p><p>Guidance on the GOV.UK website reflects the legal requirements employers must follow when asking individuals to consider contractual changes. The guidance also provides advice on recourse available if an individual feels they have been unfairly treated.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 23/01/2017 16:29:08 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

674932

registered interest
date	18/01/2017
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to amend his Department's policy on changing an employment contract to prevent employers firing and rehiring employees.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	60558
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2017 answer text <p>Government has no plans at present to change this policy.</p><p>The UK labour market allows individuals and employers to agree employment contracts and patterns of work that suit them and does not want to restrict people’s ability to choose how they work, nor impose strict unnecessary regulations on businesses.</p><p>However, Government is clear that employers must take their employment law responsibilities seriously and cannot simply opt out of their responsibilities or avoid the law.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 23/01/2017 16:28:12 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

596168

registered interest
date	07/10/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to identify businesses that engage in labour exploitation.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	46876
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>The Immigration Act 2016 creates a new Director of Labour Market Enforcement. They will be responsible for overseeing and setting priorities for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, National Minimum Wage enforcement and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. This will strengthen efforts to identify businesses that engage in labour exploitation.</p><p> </p><p>To enable more effective enforcement, we are creating:</p><ul><li>A new intelligence hub so that enforcement is targeted at areas of risk; and</li><li>A new regime of Labour Market Enforcement undertakings and orders, backed up by a criminal offence and custodial sentence, to allow us to tackle repeat labour market offenders and rogue businesses.</li></ul><p> </p><p>We have already reformed the Gangmasters Licensing Authority into the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority with the ability to tackle labour exploitation.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 17/10/2016 09:31:53 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day