Public Policy
Monday 11th of November
11-12:15pm
Online
11am
Welcome, introduction and APSCo update
Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director, APSCo
11:05am
DBT Consultation on Zero Hours Contracts
The Government policy leads from DBT will be attending online at this meeting to explain the rationale behind the consultation and to receive your feedback on the measures. APSCo will collect your feedback to incorporate as part of APSCo’s written submission. Remember APSCo members can also submit responses individually.
The Consultation can be found here:
By way of explanation the Government states that the Employment Rights Bill includes measures to deliver its commitments to end exploitative zero hours contracts by introducing:
- A right to a contract with guaranteed hours that reflects the number of hours regularly worked, based on a twelve-week reference period; and
- A right to reasonable notice of shifts, and proportionate payment for short notice shift cancellations and curtailment.
The Government believes that agency workers should have the right to guaranteed hours which reflect the hours they work. The Government’s intention is also that agency workers should receive payment for shifts that are cancelled or curtailed at short notice. The unique tripartite relationship between agency workers, employment agencies and hirers, makes the application of these measures to the recruitment sector particularly complex. The zero hours contract measures create new responsibilities for employers. For agency workers Government needs to decide whether these responsibilities sit with the employment agency, the end hirer, or both.
In this consultation the Government is seeking to understand how these measures can best apply to agency workers, and how it can mitigate unintended consequences.
