Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gig economy.
(Con)
My Lords, the Government have stood by businesses and workers
with one of the most comprehensive and generous packages of
support globally. We are working intensively with employers and
industry groups to understand the long-term effects of Covid-19
and specific challenges to businesses and workers, including in
the gig economy. Following announcements of further measures to
control the spread of Covid-19, we are continuing to monitor the
impact of government support in different sectors.
[V]
I thank the Minister very much for her Answer. While the job
coaches and extra provision made may improve the CVs and present
conditions of those forced into the gig economy, they will do
nothing to improve the security or the working conditions of
those so precariously employed and poorly protected. Therefore,
will the employment Bill provide a clearer definition of what
counts as an employer-employee relationship? How will it stop
platform employers retaining all of the profits while socialising
essential costs such as sickness pay or a basic pension in old
age?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government announced an employment Bill in the
Queen’s Speech, and details of that will be brought forward in
due course. But the Government are not waiting for that Bill to
take action to ensure that the gig economy, while it remains
flexible, is also fair to the workers who work within it. Since
the Taylor review, we have legislated for a number of stronger
protections for workers, including extending the right to a
written statement of core terms of employment and quadrupling the
maximum fine for employers who treat their workers badly.
(Con)
[V]
My Lords, the time when full-time jobs were secure has now long
gone. Almost no full-time employee today can guarantee that they
will be in the same position in a year’s time. However, financial
insecurity is much higher for gig workers and the self-employed,
as highlighted more strongly during this Covid crisis. I ask my
noble friend the Minister: what action can be looked at to
address the issue of continual late payments for goods and
services, as this has a very great impact on this sector?
(Con)
My Lords, I believe that this is something that falls within the
remit of the Small Business Commissioner, and the Government have
looked at increasing the enforcement of those provisions.
(CB)
My Lords, a problem with the term “gig economy” is that, in
practical terms, it incorporates a wide and varied group, many of
whom have had vocational training and are self-employed by choice
because of the nature of the work they do. Does the Minister
acknowledge that there needs to be a sea change in the way the
self-employed as a whole are regarded and that to support them
through this crisis—and they need considerably more financial
support—would be to protect an investment for the future?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government acknowledge the important work that the
self-employed do across this country, and I am sure the noble
Earl will welcome today’s announcement that the support for the
self-employed in the next two grants under the scheme will double
from 20% to 40%, meaning that the maximum grant will rise from
£1,875 to £3,750.
(Lab)
[V]
Your Lordships will be aware that thousands of gig economy
workers are employed in the hospitality sector, which saw a
decline of over 80% between April and June this year and which
faces further uncertainty due to tier 3 regional restrictions.
Will the Minister agree to consider the proposals in the
hospitality rescue review published today by Unite the Union to
protect jobs and the health and safety of these workers by, in
particular, immediately establishing a tripartite hospitality
commission of employers, unions and government to help secure the
survival of this important sector?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government will look at all recommendations for
what we can do to support the economy and businesses during this
difficult time, including the ones that the noble Baroness
mentioned. Today, the Government have announced more support for
the hospitality sector: we announced grants for businesses that
have to close under tier 3, but those that suffer a downturn in
their business due to tier 2 restrictions will also be able to
access grants, which will be backdated for those areas that were
already under similar restrictions before the tiered system was
put in place.
(LD) [V]
The Chancellor’s announcements today are welcome as they improve
support for those in work and the self-employed, but I hope that
the Minister recognises that there are very large numbers of
people in all forms of the gig economy who are not getting
support. In particular, I cite those who work in the arts and
elsewhere, who will not currently have employment and have little
hope of it, or those who are directors working through limited
companies, who cannot now get income because they are not
supported because they took their income through dividends. Does
the Minister have any estimate of how many people have been
excluded from support?
(Con)
My Lords, the noble Lord is talking about two of the support
schemes: the Job Support Scheme, or the furlough scheme, and the
self-employed scheme. Of course, for those who are not able to
access those schemes, there are many other support schemes
available, including bounce-back loans for businesses, where we
have increased the generosity of those terms, and the Cultural
Renewal Taskforce, which provides over £1.5 billion of funding to
cultural institutions. One of the effects of this, we hope, will
be that freelancers working in that sector will have more
opportunities for work and be able to stay in the sector to which
they contribute so much.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, the Minister mentioned the Taylor review, Good Work,
which was completed in 2017. All of its recommendations were
accepted. It contained important recommendations on closing the
gap in law between the limited rights available to workers and
the better rights available to employees. Will these be included
in the long-awaited employment Bill?
(Con)
My Lords, as I said to the right reverend Prelate, we will bring
forward the employment Bill, but I cannot preview what will be in
it today. As I have also said, we have not waited for that Bill
as the opportunity to make changes to the balance between
flexibility for employers and flexibility for employees. We will
continue to take measures to protect workers where we can.
(Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as stated in the register. Is the
Minister aware that the basis for allocations of Arts Council
England’s cultural recovery fund grants is widely seen is
incomprehensible, arbitrary and unfair, leaving many viable
festivals with no funding to repay hundreds of thousands of
pounds to thousands of ticketholders who have not rolled over
their tickets to 2021? Will she confirm that there will be an
appeals process to ensure that the undistributed part of the
grant can be allocated fairly to those whose applications may not
have been properly considered?
(Con)
My Lords, I do not recognise my noble friend’s description of the
criteria for the allocation of grants under that fund. The
Government have been clear that priority will be given to
organisations with national or international reputation and to
those central to the cultural fabric of our towns and regions.
However, I will take my noble friend’s point about an appeals
process back to the department.
(CB) [V]
My Lords, the word “gig” of course comes from music. I am afraid
that the announcements today will not help the problem that I am
about to enunciate. Does the Minister share my concern that, when
we look at the Government’s own figures for the Self-employment
Income Support Scheme, it is alarming that only 34% of those who
are self-employed in arts and entertainment have taken up the
scheme? Therefore, without further support for those freelancers
falling through the many cracks, we are at risk of losing highly
skilled talent from our world-leading music industry.
(Con)
My Lords, 95% of those who get half or more of their income from
self-employment would qualify for the self-employed scheme. As I
have said to noble Lords, for those who do not qualify, it is not
the only route of support that the Government are providing. We
completely recognise the contribution of those in the arts to our
country. That is why we have a specific fund dedicated to
supporting cultural recovery.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, as part of the seven steps towards fair and decent work
with realistic scope for development and fulfilment outlined in
the Taylor report, what will the Government do to ensure that
this community has an opportunity for training and retraining,
particularly in the tech industry?
(Con)
My Lords, a huge amount of support is going into the Government’s
plan for jobs, which has a focus on improving the amount of
training and retraining available where people wish to take it
up. That support is there. The entire plan is worth around £30
billion and will be in place to help those unable to find work in
the current circumstances.
