- On 26 July 2021 Labour announced plans to introduce a single status of ‘worker’ which would mean that rights were acquired from day one of employment.
- This plan would eliminate the current variations between employment categories meaning that all workers would fall under one bracket.
- Currently, the majority of employment rights are only obtained by those who have ‘Employee’ status, such as the rights to holiday pay, paid parental leave and statutory sick pay (SSP).
- There are also qualifying periods for some rights, such as the right to claim unfair dismissal which arises after two years. Labour’s new plans would see the removal of these periods and mean that all workers were entitled to such rights at day one of their employment.
- The proposal is in response to various recent tribunal cases relating to the gig economy which considered whether individuals were workers or employees for the purpose of National Minimum Wage and holiday pay.
- Labour’s Shadow Employment Rights and Protections Secretary, said:
“Millions of workers are in insecure employment with low pay and few rights and protections, particularly key workers whose efforts got the country through the pandemic … A lack of basic rights and protections forces working people into poverty and insecurity. This is terrible for working people, damaging for the economy, and as we have seen throughout the pandemic, devastating for public health.”
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