[IER] Parliament to debate proposals to end zero-hour contracts

Fri Jan 19 17:48:33 GMT 2018

IER News Brief 19/01/18

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news brief

Friday 19th January 2018

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The second reading of The Workers’ Definition and Rights Bill was tabled for today, introducing proposals to effectively abolish zero-hour contracts.

The Bill was drafted by Chris Stephens MP with the advice of the Institute of Employment Rights, and is supported by the Labour Party and the General Council of the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

It proposes the establishment of a right to fixed and regular weekly hours for every worker; a requirement on managers to provide decent notice of shifts, as well as full payment when shifts are cancelled at short notice; and a duty on the principal employer for the protection of workers' rights when operations are outsourced to third parties. This means that if a company contracted to complete outsourced work fails or absconds, wages must be recoverable from the principal employer.

"The purpose of this Bill is to effectively abolish zero-hours contracts - so they can only be in place where there is an agreement to that effect with a recognised trade union," Stephens, an SNP MP for Glasgow West, told the Morning Star.

He added that he believes now may be the best time to bring progressive proposals to Westminster, saying the Bill has a chance of being passed while the Conservative Party is weakened.

The Institute of Employment Rights congratulates Chris Stephens on this initiative but warns that this alone is not enough to protect workers' rights. While the Bill chimes well with our Manifesto for Labour Law <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ca707fbf36&e=71131c031b>  - 25 proposals for reform, which were a key influence for the employment rights section of last year's Labour Party Manifesto - we recommend that the Manifesto must be legislated for as a whole in order to fully protect workers.

Read about the Bill here <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=c5af815f90&e=71131c031b> 

We will report on the content of today's debate next week.

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	Parliament to debate proposals to end zero-hour contracts
The Workers’ Definition and Rights Bill, brought by SNP MP Chris Stephens, is set to have its second reading in Parliament today.
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