27.10.16 Government Committee to Enquire into Worker Status and Working Practice

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (‘the Committee’) has launched an inquiry into pay and working conditions in the UK, due to a rising anxiety regarding statutory rights of individuals who are not employed on a permanent basis. The Committee will be focussing the inquiry on the rights of agency workers and the self-employed as opposed to employees.

Following the establishment of the committee and their inquiry, there have been announcements of investigations into multiple successful businesses, including Hermes and Uber, in relation to bad working practices, low-pay and the use of agency staff or self-employed labour.

What will the Committee investigate?

The inquiry is set to look at various components which, Government believe, constitute the issues the UK has in regards to employment and working. Some of these include:

• What rights should agency workers, casual workers and the self-employed have in relation to tax, benefits and employment law?
• What support from the government should both self-employed and employed individuals receive over issues such as statutory sick pay, maternity pay, and holiday pay?
• Is there evidence to demonstrate that agency workers have/are being treated unfairly in comparison with comparable employees?
• Are there issues surrounding terms and conditions of employees? 
• What should be the stance on the use of zero-hour contracts, the definition of flexible contracts, the role of the Low Pay Commission, and minimum wage enforcement?

Aspire Comment:

There is currently a lot of attention on employment status and working practices and the creation of this Committee further demonstrates Government’s commitment to investigate the fast expanding “gig economy”. In this regard, you must feel confident that, if you are engaging self-employed labour, the individuals are genuinely self-employed and you have evidence that supports this.

If you are worried about your engagement of self-employed workers, feel free to give one of the Aspire team a call to discuss how we can help you.

We will be keeping an eye on the Committee and its progress so that we can report on any updates.