Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
3rd Report - Make Work Pay: Employment Rights Bill
Business and Trade Committee
HC 370
Published 3 March 2025
Recommendations
6
Deferred
Prioritise review of worker status and address false self-employment immediately.
Recommendation
While the Committee welcomes the Government’s plans to reform worker status and bogus self-employment, it must proceed at pace to turn ambition into action. If it does not, it risks more companies adopting a ‘self-employment’ model for their workforces to …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the complexity of the employment status framework and the issue of bogus self-employment but states that consulting on and implementing reforms to create a simpler framework is a longer-term goal that will take time, rather than prioritising it immediately alongside the Employment Rights Bill.
Department for Business and Trade
View Details →
15
Deferred
Review Modern Slavery Act Section 54, mandating reporting and introducing penalties for non-disclosure.
Recommendation
The Government must review the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and make changes to Section 54 to improve transparency. In particular the Government should: a. Change provision 54(5) such that the areas of reporting in modern slavery statements become mandatory. b. …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government is considering strengthening Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act, including reporting requirements and penalties, and will set out next steps in due course, noting that significant reform will take time. Interim updated guidance has been published.
Department for Business and Trade
View Details →
17
Deferred
Align UK legislation with global partners, introducing mandatory human rights due diligence and import bans.
Recommendation
The UK Government must look to align with global legislation, prioritising the introduction of mandatory Human Rights due diligence, to avoid duplicated efforts for UK businesses. The Government should also consider newer levers such as import bans on products from …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government affirms its support for voluntary human rights due diligence approaches and states it will continue to assess and monitor existing measures and new international policy tools, consulting with stakeholders as it considers any further action on mandatory due diligence or import bans.
Department for Business and Trade
View Details →
Conclusions (1)
14
Conclusion
Deferred
Case studies reviewed by the Committee highlight a significant inconsistency in the transparency of Modern Slavery Statements. Although these statements may meet the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the lack of standardisation hinders consumers from making informed purchasing decisions and assessing whether products are free from exploitative labour …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the inconsistency in Modern Slavery Statements and states it is considering how to strengthen the Section 54 regime, including reporting requirements, and will set out next steps in due course. It also notes updated statutory guidance has been published.