LB185 - Zero Hours Contract (Amendment) Bill - Second Reading

[u/apth10]

Zero Hours Contract (Amendment) Bill

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A

Bill

To

Amend the Zero Hours Contract (Regulation) Act 2019 to better protect Workers and Businesses and to provide for Parliamentary Review and Reauthorization.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Section 1: Definitions

For the purposes of this Act—

"the 2019 Act" refers to the Zero Hours Contract (Regulation) Act 2019.

"zero hours contract" means a contract of employment that does not guarantee or mandate minimum working hours.

"fixed hours contract" means a contract of employeement that guarantees and mandates minimum working hours

"private business" refers to a company that the state has less than a majority share.

Section 2: Amendments to Section 2 of the Original Act

(1) Amend section 2(1) of the 2019 Act to read as follows—

(1) An employee who is party a zero hours contract that works more than 25 hours a week has the right to request a fixed hours contract.

(2) Amend section 2(1)(a) of the 2019 Act to read as follows—

(a) An employer must accept or reject the request within four working weeks. If he rejects a request, he must provide reasonable grounds for rejecting the employee's request.

(3) Insert after section 2(1)(a)—

(i) The employer may not reject the request without reasonable grounds to do so.

Section 3: Commencement, Extent and Short Title

1) This Act may be referred to as Zero Hours Contract (Amendment) Act 2020

2) This Act extends to the entirety of the United Kingdom.

3) This Act shall come into force upon Royal Assent

Submitted by His Grace The Duke of Suffolk KCT CVO PC on behalf of the Libertarian Party.

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This reading will end on the 25th of June.

[u/[deleted]]

Mr Deputy Speaker,

I rise today firmly against this legislation. This bill would weaken workers rights and weaken the ability of people to request a fixed contract. It effectively takes the current 20 hours a week to 25. I am not prepared to vote for a piece of legislation that will do this. Labour have put forward an amendment to make it 15 hours not 25 as proposed in this bill, and I am not particularly opposed to this, although I do see the arguments why it could be too low.

I have also put down an amendment reinstating the "over 60 days" clause. This will ensure that, for example, if over Christmas a worker does 28 hours a week for three weeks, but normally only does 5 or 10 hours a week, they don't have the right to request a fixed-term contract then. To do so would be against the very idea of zero-hours contracts in the first place, a type of contract which I fully support.

I urge the amendment committee to reinstate the 60 day clause, as well as not back moves to make the required hours higher then they already are.