28 February 2020

SNP MP Chris Stephens reintroduced the Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill in the House of Commons yesterday.

The proposed legislation redefines a ‘worker’ as a person in employment – rather than dividing those in employment into ‘employees’, with the full suite of rights and ‘workers’, with only basic rights – and provides all workers with employment protections from day one on the job.

The Bill was initially introduced in the last Parliamentary Session and was awaiting its Second Reading. It now resumes that wait.

Stephens said the Bill, which was drafted in consultation with the Institute of Employment Rights, would eliminate zero-hours contracts and protect the livelihoods of people in precarious work.

He also proposed compensation for workers when employers cancel their shifts at short notice.

”If fairness is not nailed down in legislation and enforced, there will always be employers who push their advantage to the limit and beyond,” he argued.

”The time has come for an Act of Parliament to address the issues of precarious work that bring misery to millions of people.”