The UK will become one of the first countries to address the challenges of the changing world of work in the modern economy says the Government after it announced plans today that will see millions of workers to get new day-one rights with sick and holiday pay in the so called gig economy.

The Good Work plan’ comes in response to the independent Taylor Review, published last year, which investigated what impact modern working practices are having on the world of work.

The review found that the strength of the UK’s labour market is built on flexibility but that a clearer focus is needed on quality of work as well as the quantity of jobs.

The proposals will enforce vulnerable workers’ holiday and sick pay for the first time, give a list of day-one rights including holiday and sick pay entitlements and a new right to a payslip for all workers, including casual and zero-hour workers and provide rights for all workers, not just zero-hour and agency, to request a more stable contract, providing more financial security for those on flexible contracts.

Announcing the reforms Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

“The Taylor Review said that the current approach to employment is successful but that we should build on that success, in preparing for future opportunities.

We want to embrace new ways of working, and to do so we will be one of the first countries to prepare our employment rules to reflect the new challenges.

We will take forward Matthew Taylor’s recommendations and commit to pursuing the quality of work as well as number of jobs.”

The TUC though described the proposals as a baby step.

General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“The government has taken a baby step – when it needed to take a giant leap.These plans won’t stop the hire and fire culture of zero-hours contracts or sham self-employment. And they will still leave 1.8 million workers excluded from key protections.Ministers need to up their game. At the very least they must end the Undercutters’ Charter that means agency workers can be paid less than permanent staff doing the same job.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here