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
5
Rejected
Remove the 'minimum number of hours' reference from the Employment Rights Bill.
Recommendation
Defining what counts as low-hours creates a loophole that can be exploited by companies to avoid their obligations set out in the Bill. We echo Usdaw’s recommendation that the reference to ‘a minimum number of hours, not exceeding a specified …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to remove the hours threshold, stating it is important to prevent unnecessary interference with existing arrangements and ensure the right is targeted. They will consult on the specific hours threshold for regulations.
Department for Business and Trade
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8
Rejected
Revisit equality law enforcement regime, clarifying Fair Work Agency and EHRC roles to protect workers.
Recommendation
To ensure long-term enforcement of the new duties on employers introduced in the Employment Rights Bill, the Government should revisit the regime for enforcing equality law and harm against individual protected characteristics, including setting out how the Fair Work Agency …
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Government Response Summary
The government states the EHRC will retain its current responsibility for enforcing equality law and the FWA's remit does not include equality legislation, therefore rejecting a broader review of the equality law enforcement regime, though it will consider how information sharing between bodies works in practice.
Department for Business and Trade
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19
Rejected
Set out Fair Work Agency funding target to meet ILO inspector benchmark
Recommendation
The Committee welcomes the Government’s focus on labour market enforcement to tackle non-compliance. However, if the Fair Work Agency (FWA) is to be given new powers it will also need more resource. Efficiencies made from combining current budgets will not …
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Government Response Summary
The government states that while inspector numbers are important, the focus is on effective enforcement and efficient resource use, and it does not commit to the ILO benchmark or to setting out a specific funding target, strategy, or timeline for the Fair Work Agency, promising only to consider resources when producing future reports.
Department for Business and Trade
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