The British Retail Consortium has welcomed proposed amendments to the controversial Employment Rights Bill, but has urged the Lords there is “further to go” to protect jobs in the retail sector.
Members of the House of Lords proposed amendments to the bill, in a report stage debate, earlier this week. It included removing the “day one” right for workers to claim unfair dismissal, instead reducing the qualifying period from two years to six months. They also proposed a new definition for seasonal worker and a removal of a worker’s right to guaranteed-hour contracts after 12 weeks of service. Instead workers should have a “right to request” guaranteed hours.
The BRC, which is among groups to have previously warned Labour that the proposals could lead to a swathe of employment tribunals, as well as an exodus of entry-level roles from the sector, welcomed the amendments as “pragmatic”.
“The House of Lords has listened to our concerns, putting forward positive, practical and pragmatic amendments to the Employment Rights Bill which would help to protect the availability of valuable, local, part-time and entry-level jobs up and down the country,” said BRC CEO Helen Dickinson.
“To ignore these suggested changes when the Bill returns to the Commons would undermine the government’s own plans to get Britain working again as fewer flexible, part-time jobs will be available,” Dickinson said.
Lords will have a final chance to agree amendments to the bill on 3 September when it passes to third reading. The amendments will then be considered by the House of Commons, and if approved the bill will pass for royal assent to become law.
Read more: Employment Rights Bill: what do supermarkets need to know?
Dickinson urged the Lords there is “further to go” if they wish to protect jobs in the retail sector, particularly the roughly 1.5 million people who work part-time.
“Even with these amendments accepted, retailers remain worried about the consequences for jobs from other areas of the Bill. The industry has lost 350,000 jobs over the past 10 years, and current proposals around guaranteed hours in particular could threaten the availability of local, flexible part-time jobs, which support so many people from so many backgrounds into work,” Dickinson said.
“There must now be a much more strategic dialogue between employers, unions and government, to collectively find solutions that will work for everyone. We share the same goals – punishing unscrupulous employers who do not treat their employees fairly, delivering secure work for employees, and protecting the availability of jobs in communities across the UK.”
Biggest shakeup of workers’ rights for three decades
Among the other proposed amendments are a reinstating of the 50% vote threshold needed by a trade union to approve industrial action, as well as defining “reasonable notice” for shift changes as 48 hours.
Labour hailed the bill as the “biggest shakeup in workers’ rights in 30 years” when it was introduced in October. The bill would “modernise the world of work by ending exploitative zero-hour contracts, extend day one employment protections on unfair dismissal, and deliver a genuine living wage”, Labour have said.
Trade unions, including Usdaw, hailed the reforms. However, businesses have expressed their concern, warning it could lead to a swathe of legal cases, higher employments costs and ultimately higher prices. Sainsbury’s Simon Roberts and McDonald’s Alistair Macrow were among a number of business leaders to express their concerns directly to ministers, including business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, at a breakfast briefing last September.
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