19 July 2019

The government has launched a consultation into proposals made by the Low Pay Commission to reduce the 'one-sidedness' of so-called 'flexibility.

New rights aimed at people in insecure work, such as zero-hour contract workers, include a right to reasonable notice of working hours and compensation for shifts cancelled at short-notice.

The Institute of Employment Rights' Manifesto for Labour Law recommends much stronger action to provide secure work to the millions of workers stuck in jobs with unguaranteed hours.

Zero-hour contracts should be banned, with all contracts instead required to provide for a minimum of regular hours per week, with additional hours permissible up to 20% of regular hours and paid at a premium rate.

Workers should also have a right to become a permanent employee after two years' service, and employers who attempt to get around this law by unnecessarily ending contracts after two years will be required to pay compensation to the worker.

Further, there should be no legal distinction between 'workers' and 'employees', with all people in employment instead receiving all rights from day one.

Click here to read more about the Manifesto for Labour Law