Good Work Report: Government proposes to consult on employment practices

You may recall in July last year that the Taylor Review was published which reviewed modern work practices. In particular, it focused on employment status and issues that have arisen as a result of the rise of the ‘gig economy’ (think Uber, Deliveroo and CitySprint).

The Taylor Review’s aim was to assess how employment practices need to change in order to keep pace with modern business models. It can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-work-the-taylor-review-of-modern-working-practices.

The government has now issued a response to the Taylor Review, which can be accessed here.

In its response, the Government announces plans to increase the rights of workers in the so-called gig economy. These plans – if approved and implemented – would include:

• naming and shaming employers who fail to pay employment tribunal awards;
• quadrupling fines for employers who lose employment tribunal claims and who have shown malice, spite or gross oversight towards their workers, to £20,000;
• consideration of higher minimum wage rates for workers on zero hours contracts;
• defining working time when workers are provided with work through apps or via online platforms; and
• considering changes to the definitions of ‘worker’ and ‘employee’ so that employment status is easier to determine.

The Government launches four separate consultations to consider the following:

• employment status (closes 1 June 2018);
• increasing transparency in the labour market (closes 23 May 2018);
• agency workers (closes 9 May 2018); and
• enforcement of employment rights (closes 16 May 2018).

Schools should consider whether they would like to respond to any of the consultations through the sector organisations and should watch this space to keep informed about any changes in due course.