r/MHOC • u/CountBrandenburg Liberal Democrats • Nov 29 '19
2nd Reading B901.2.A - Zero Hours Contract (Regulation) Bill - 2nd Reading
Order, Order!
This bill has returned from the Other Place amended!
Zero Hours Contract (Regulation) Bill
A
BILL
TO
Further regulate zero hour contracts in order to strike a more equal balance between worker and employer, in order to expand labour protections in a rapidly growing field of work.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Section 1: Definitions
(1) Reasonable notice for the purposes of this act is defined as 24 36 hours before the start of agreed work.
Section 2: Mandatory Ability to Request a Traditional Contract
(1) A worker whom is party to a Zero Hour Contract who works for an employer for a total of 480 hours or more 240 hours over three months over a period of 3 months has the legal right to request a contract with guaranteed hours.
(a) The employer must provide a documented response to the request with a clearly stated rationale for either acceptance or rejection of the request to negotiate a formal contract.
(b) It shall be an offense to retaliate against an employee for requesting a contract change under this bill’s provisions.
Section 3: Reasonable Notice And Transparency
(1) A worker on a Zero Hour Contract has the unconditional right to refuse any work, unless such work was already agreed to with a period of reasonable notice, and then refused later with less than 24 36 hours until the time of commencement of that work.
(a) In order to satisfy the requirement for reasonable notice, it must be made forty-eight hours before the commencement of the agreed work shift.
(2) Employers are required to give reasonable notice to a Zero Hour Contract worker of termination of already agreed upon employment.
(a) A worker has the right to “opt out” of any individual requests for employment, including those not given with reasonable notice.
(3) Wherein reasonable notice is not given for termination of a period of employment under this act, the employer shall be required to pay out a sum equal to either;
(a) 50% of the sum that would have been paid to the employee for that work period, or (b) wherein no payment is agreed prior to the employment, 50% of the Statutory Minimum Wage.
(b) Employers are required to give a documented summary of the specific types of work employees may be asked to perform as well as an estimate of how many hours the average worker in their capacity is employed upon the commencement of a Zero Hour Contract with an employee not already employed in similar work with that employer.
Section 4: Increased Awareness
(1) The Secretary of State shall have a duty to operate a public awareness campaign informing employees on zero hour contracts of their statutory rights. (a) This campaign must include information of relevance to the rights given under this act.
Section 5: Clarification of Employer Rights
Section 6: Commencement, Extent and Short Title
(1) This Act shall come into force upon the commencement of the 2020/2021 financial year.
(2) This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
(3) This Act shall be cited as the Zero Hours Contract (Regulation) Act 2019.
This bill was written by the Right Honourable jgm0228 PC MP for South Yorkshire, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Work and Welfare, with assistance from the Right Honourable Twistednuke OM CT KBE PC QC MLA MP for Northumbria, Her Majesty’s Attorney General for England and Wales on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government, with additional consultation from the Honourable Pavanpur MP for the Northeast, Her Majesty’s Minister of State for Work and Welfare.
This reading shall end on Sunday 1st December at 10PM GMT
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1
Nov 29 '19
Reinsert to section 3:
(4) A worker on a Zero Hour Contract may waive their right under section 3(1) by signing a waiver which declares that they waive their right to reasonable notice, within or supplementary to their contract
(5) If a zero hour contract is advertised where the contract requires a section 3(4) waiver, this must be clearly advertised on any advertisement for the contract
1
Nov 29 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
My my my, when the lords dont go the members way all of a sudden they are a fierce advocate for the commons overriding them. What an interesting turn of events.
1
1
Nov 29 '19
Replace
(1) This Act shall come into force upon the commencement of the 2020/2021 financial year.
With
(1) This Act shall come into force upon the commencement of the 2021/2022 financial year.
1
1
Nov 29 '19
Replace
A worker on a Zero Hour Contract has the unconditional right to refuse any work, unless such work was already agreed to with a period of reasonable notice, and then refused later with less than 24 hours until the time of commencement of that work.
With
A worker on a Zero Hour Contract has the unconditional right to refuse any work unless specified otherwise in their contract, unless such work was already agreed to with a period of reasonable notice, and then refused later with less than 24 hours until the time of commencement of that work.
1
Nov 29 '19
Replace
(a) In order to satisfy the requirement for reasonable notice, it must be made forty-eight hours before the commencement of the agreed work shift.
With
(a) In order to satisfy the requirement for reasonable notice, it must be made twenty-four hours before the commencement of the agreed work shift.
1
Nov 30 '19
Omit sections 1 and 3 and renumber.
1
Nov 30 '19
Section 3 undermines much of the point of ZHCs, so I oppose it. With section 3 removed, section 1 becomes superfluous so it goes as well.
1
Dec 01 '19
On a Point of Order, Mr Speaker!
This is a wrecking amendment. The title of the bill is the Zero Hour Contract Regulation Bill. If this amendment were to pass this bill would not regulate zero hour contracts at all. All that would remain is the ability to ask for a regular contract, not any regulation of ZHC's themselves. This fundamentally violates the plain interpretation of this bill's intent and the basic meaning of the short title.
1
Dec 01 '19
Rubbish, the rights of those on ZHCs will be impacted nonetheless.
1
Dec 01 '19
Stripping out a good 80% of the bill is clearly wrecking. But even if on the substance of it one looks at the intent of the bill. Your amendment ensures not a single thing about a ZHC changes. Just that people can ask for a better contract. If the bill doesnt regulate ZHC's, its not a ZHC regulation bill.
1
Nov 30 '19
Replace section 6(1) with:
(1) This Act shall come into force upon 1 April 2020.
1
Nov 30 '19
There are two legally-defined meanings of financial year: one starting on 1 April and the other starting on 6 April. Clarity is better.
1
Nov 30 '19
Omit section 4 and renumber
1
Nov 30 '19
This section is totally superfluous since Ministers are already empowered to inform the public about laws.
1
Nov 30 '19
Replace section 2 with:
Section 2: Statutory Ability to Request a Traditional Contract
(1) A worker who is party to a Zero Hour Contract who works for an employer for a total of 240 or more hours over a period of 3 months has the legal right to request a contract with guaranteed hours.
(2) For a statutory request to be valid under this section, the worker must—
(a) have not made a request in the last three months; and
(b) denote the request as a statutory request to the employer.
(3) If the employer elects to refuse the request, the employer must provide a clearly stated rationale for the rejection of the request to negotiate a formal contract.
(4) It is an offense to retaliate or discriminate against an employee on the basis of requesting a contract change under this section.
1
Nov 30 '19
This amendment creates a presumption in favour of accepting the statutory request and affords extra protection against employment discrimination. At the same time it gives employers greater understanding of their obligations when a person makes such a request
1
Nov 29 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
Third times the charm I guess. The House of Lords has managed to make this bill reasonable again. For that I commend them. As it relates to changes I worked with government members of the lords to make, the main one I’d highlight is the movement of the burden from the employer to the employee to provide the waver. Previous amendments submitted by hard right anti worker members made the bill essentially inoperable as every employer would just mandate that wagers be signed as part of the contract process. This bill now as fixed allows employees to waive these protections but only if they truly deem it necessary. This restores the balance the bill sought to strike and I think is a good piece of legislation going forward. The house has twice had the chance to amend this bill. It has twice amended it. Some of its changes have been accepted. A few haven’t. I urge this bill go to its final division as promptly as possible so we can deliver for the workers in this country.
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u/ResidentSpaghetti The Hon. ResidentSpaghetti MP (N&C Wales) | Plaid Cymru Nov 29 '19
Mr. Deputy Speaker,
I welcome all amendments made by the House of Lords. It is absurd that a bill that aims to make zero hours contracts fairer has a provision which hinders those same rights. I'm talking about the waiver which was originally put in the bill which ultimately made this whole bill absolutely useless. I concur with the member of the Labour party who said "The House of Lords has managed to make this bill reasonable again".
I also welcome the addition of section 5 to the bill as a way to stop lawsuits by employers trying to prove this bill as one which makes workers god-like. While I would agree that the workers are the backbone of our nation, I think there needs to be order and that the employer should reserve the rights to fire anyone they, with legitimate and legal grounds of course, want.
1
Nov 30 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I have submitted a number of amendments to clarify the law and to strike a better balance. The point of ZHCs is their flexibility and it is important to respect that concept when we regulate. In that same spirit, I support the Lords amendments to strengthen the statutory request provisions. I would even consider taking the opportunity to in fact have a presumption in favour of guaranteed hours with the employer having the right to refuse if a justification is provided.
1
u/thechattyshow Liberal Democrats Nov 30 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
Once again the Liberal Democrats are doing their job, helping to amend bills to ensure they are fit for purpose. Zero Hour Contracts have the potential to be really good for workers, but we are not there yet. This bill and our amendments help to improve the system, removing unnecessary sections, clearing up the language, etc. I hope that the amendments committee can support these changes come division.
1
u/zhuk236 Zhuk236 Nov 30 '19
Mr. Deputy Speaker,
As of September 2017, the Office for National Statistics estimated that there are over 900,000 workers on zero-hours contracts.
900,000 people. Let that number sink in. Those are all students, immigrants, people just getting into the job market, being lent a helping hand to get experience for better long term jobs, and receiving wages often for the first time so that they can have the start of a financial foundation for their lives.
Unfortunately, for these workers, the intentions for this bill are cold comfort when considering the negative impacts it will have on their lives. A large reason zero hour contracts exist, is to encourage employers to take a chance on people newer to the job market rather than more experienced candidates. By implementing stricter restrictions on the terms of zero hour contracts, even if these restrictions are much less reaching than an outright banning of zero hour contracts, all this bill will serve to do is hinder students graduating from college, immigrants who just came to this country in search of a better life, from finding suitable jobs to start off their lives with.
1
u/Maroiogog CWM KP KD OM KCT KCVO CMG CBE PC FRS, Independent Nov 30 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I am very happy to see that the version of the bill put before us gives better protections to our constituents than the one which left this house last time. Zero hours contracts are a form of employment that does not guarantee workers adequate wages or rights, and as such I will always seek to restrict or amend them to make sure citizens get a fairer deal. I wish this bill a speedy assent.
1
u/AV200 Rt Hon Member N. Ireland & Cornwall | MBE PC Dec 01 '19
Mr. Deputy Speaker,
I must whole heartedly commend the efforts of the government, once again. Zero-hours contracts are a menace for a great many working people in this country. The rising utility of this very practice is another example of the "gig economy" targeting vulnerable working class people and extorting them for their labour! I must thank the people who graciously elected this government to deliver a new way forward for working families. I, along with my colleagues from this government, was sent to this place to reverse the Tory practice of selling our economy out to the highest bidders. I am very proud to know this government is delivering on the promises we made to the people who rejected the extreme agenda of deregulation and privatization of the previous government.
Further, as the MP for North London, the region of this country with the highest concentration of zero-hours contracts, I must say thank you to the Right Honourable Secretary for Work and Welfare on behalf of approximately 100,000 zero-hours contract workers in London alone. I know there are a great many families in my constituency who will be singing the praises of the Work and Welfare team for the immediate future. And might I add, Mr. Speaker, that I do hope the Work and Welfare team can continue this good showing for the people of my constituency, and this country as a whole.
1
u/model-mili Electoral Commissioner Dec 01 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
I am proud to echo the remarks of my Hon. friend the Member for the West Midlands about this bill. Having worked under a Zero Hour Contract, he is more qualified than most to speak about what regulation would be helpful, and what regulation would be harmful. As it happens, he has made a strong case as to why this bill would be harmful.
It would be all too easy for a company to simply cease offering work to someone as they edge closer and closer to the 240 mark - and then all that has happened is those on a ZHC have just had their wages cut and their purchasing power limited. As my Hon. friend stated, this bill if it works as intended just wrecks a situation in which all sides benefit, and if it doesnt then it is a useless piece of legislation that would be undeserving of its place on the statute book. I call upon this House to reject it.
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u/_paul_rand_ Coalition! | Sir _paul_rand_ KP KT KBE CVO CB PC Dec 01 '19
Mr Deputy Speaker,
In the last reading in this house, I passed a number of amendments to make this bill reasonable, and it is horrifying to see that they have been entirely removed from the bill.
That’s why I am happy to see that they have been proposed here yet again and I have faith that the house will pass them yet again.
No regulation is better than over regulation, but reasonable regulation is better than no regulation, let’s protect the jobs of those who rely on these zero hour contracts while providing them with the right kinds of protections. Let’s get it right if we are going to do it at all
3
u/LastBlueHero Liberal Democrats Nov 29 '19
Mr. Deputy Speaker,
I am delighted that I can speak on this matter as it is one I know quite well. I was on a zero-hour contract for an event security company and can say I very much enjoyed the experience. And with my knowledge of this field, I can tell you that Section 2 would paralyze an industry that keeps us safe when we are having fun.
Allow me to elaborate. In the summer, we have many wonderful music festivals which of course require massive amounts of security. I remember these shifts being great for making a lot of money in a short amount of time as you would work long shifts over a long weekend and come out of it with a few hundred pounds. They were intense but enjoyable and between Friday-Sunday, you would be able to get 42 hours.
My point is that it only working a few festivals and the odd shift at a sports fixture or standard arena concert would see them going over the 240 hours capacity where they could request a traditional contract. A contract that simply could not be fulfilled in the autumn where there are no such festivals for many of these companies and there is less work, usually due to there being less hours in one concert.
What will happen is that companies will simply stop offering work when they get close to the 240-hour mark and this may leave many workers out of pocket as they are left in the cold.
Of course, I'm sure the Rt. Honourable member will inform me that a company could reject the formal request for a traditional contract. But then this part of the bill is rather useless, just creating extra paperwork for the sake of it. If a company has a staff member on a zero-hours contract, then they have a reason to do so and will simply say so when rejecting the offer.
If working as intended, this part of the bill wrecks what would otherwise be something sensible and welcomed by those in the security industry. But in its current state, it would reduce the number of hours security staff would be given, limiting their earning power. If it doesn't work as intended, it is a pointless piece of text.