- TUC calls for full guaranteed hours rights as government
consults on options
- Union body says full implementation of new rights vital to
tackling the scourge of insecure work
- Business groups arguing for rights to be scaled back are
“defending a broken status quo” which has failed our economy and
working people
The TUC has today (Tuesday) called on the government to get on
with delivering guaranteed hours contracts rights in full after
the consultation into the new measures was launched.
As part of its Plan to Make Work Pay and deliver on measures in
the Employment Rights Act, the government committed to offering
all workers a right to a contract which reflects their regular
hours, and giving every worker notice of their shifts and
compensation for cancelled shifts.
The government is consulting on the maximum number of hours a
worker can have before losing entitlement to a contract that
reflects their regular hours, as well as shift notice and
compensation for cancelled work.
The TUC says those rules must protect all workers from
exploitation.
Union warning
The TUC warns that listening to some of the “bad faith
scaremongering” on guaranteed hours could leave many workers
still facing insecurity – simply raising the floor from zero
hours and creating a new race to the bottom where employers offer
contracts which reflect an inadequate new legal minimum.
If the policy is not implemented in full, workers will face
distorted shift allocations - employers would be incentivised to
deny additional hours to the workers with the lowest hours in
case they triggered their right to secure hours.
The union body adds that warnings from employers' organisations
suggesting that rogue businesses will resort to bogus
self-employment rather than give guaranteed hours “speaks
volumes” about their priorities and reinforces the need to take
on the broken status quo.
Balance of power
Without action power imbalances in the workplace risk becoming
further entrenched, the TUC has warned.
Many workers do not know how much they will earn each week, and
lack of security over hours makes it hard for workers to plan
their lives, budget and look after their children.
Insecure work also makes it harder for workers to challenge
unacceptable behaviour by bosses because of concerns about
whether they will be penalised by not being allocated hours in
future.
In the TUC's recent post-election poll, it found that two in
three (63%) people think employers have too much power over
workers – that's nearly four times more than the 16% of people
who think workers have too much power over employers.
Huge public support
Delivering guaranteed hours contracts is hugely popular right
across the political spectrum, including with Reform voters:
Seven in ten (72%) of UK voters support this policy – including:
- Two-thirds of Reform and Tory voters from the 2024 general
election.
- And the figure is even higher for those saying they would now
vote Conservative (82%) and Reform (83%).
Only 15% of voters across the board oppose it.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:
“Ministers must stand firm and crack on with delivering new
rights to guaranteed hours in full.
“For too long, insecure work has held back our economy – leaving
workers worried sick about not getting enough hours to pay the
bills.
“Workers should know how much they'll be earning from week to
week instead of being at the whim of a bad employer who could cut
shifts last minute.
“That's the kind of security you can build a life on. It's vital
the government ignores the bad faith scaremongering and gets on
with delivering the change it promised.
“Let's be clear. Business groups calling on the government to row
back on its manifesto promises are defending a broken status quo
which has failed the economy and failed working people.”
On the government's specific proposals, Paul
added:
“The government is right to stick to a 12-week reference period
and to include agency workers in scope of these proposals.
“The government's initial preferred option on the hours threshold
is not the right one. All workers should have the right to a
contract which reflects their regular hours.
“We will be setting out the evidence for this argument during the
consultation and we expect the government to listen.
“The government must also ensure that workers whose shifts are
cancelled receive full compensation – workers should not be asked
to shoulder business risk.”
