Independent review
Good Work: The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices
Government response
The government responded to the review on 7 February 2018.
Good work: a response to the Taylor Review of modern working practices
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts the review's overarching ambition of fair and decent work for all, says it has accepted some recommendations now, and says others require further consultation to decide the best way to deliver change.
- The government accepts the recommendation that the Business Secretary be responsible for the quality of work, and accepts the recommendation to measure and report annually on it, with final measures to be published "by autumn 2018".
- On employment status, the government is "committed to improving clarity and certainty", will consult on options including legislative reform, and says it needs to avoid "unintended consequences".
- It accepts the recommendation to ask the Low Pay Commission to explore a higher NMW/NLW rate for non-guaranteed hours, and will also investigate alternatives. The LPC's assessment is due in its October 2018 report.
- The government will not take forward rolled-up holiday pay, as it has been found unlawful by the Court of Justice of the European Union, and does not propose to reverse the burden of proof in status disputes "at this time".
Good work: a response to the Taylor Review of modern working practices (web-optimised PDF)
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts the review's overarching ambition of fair and decent work for all, accepts some recommendations now and says others require further consultation on how best to deliver change.
- On employment status, the government is "committed to improving clarity and certainty" and will consult on options, including legislative reform and alignment of employment rights and tax definitions.
- It accepts extending the right to written particulars to all workers and increasing the holiday pay reference period to 52 weeks, with details subject to consultation.
- It accepts asking the Low Pay Commission to explore a higher minimum wage rate for non-guaranteed hours, and will go further by creating a right for all workers to request a more predictable contract.
- It will not take forward rolled-up holiday pay, citing a CJEU ruling that it is unlawful, and does not propose to reverse the burden of proof in status cases at this time because safeguards are not yet in place.
Summary of consultation responses
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The document summarises consultation responses on three sets of Taylor Review recommendations (labour market transparency, agency workers and enforcement), which the government says "will inform government action in these areas", and notes the government "committed to taking forward most of the recommendations" in February 2018.
- The government launched a series of consultations "to help inform the approach to implementing the review"; over 250 responses were received across the three consultations covered here.
- On employment status, the government says it is "currently considering the issues raised" and "working up detailed proposals", with a summary of responses to be published "in due course".
- The government has published its Good Work Plan, which it says has been "informed by the views provided by the consultations".
- The document reports respondents' views without stating government decisions; for example, most respondents agreed the right to a written statement should extend to all workers, and there was "widespread support" for extending the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate's remit to umbrella companies.
About this review
Summary written by this siteIndependent review of modern working practices examining the rise of the gig economy, zero-hours contracts, and new forms of employment. Recommended a new framework to ensure all work is fair and decent.
Recommendations 53
Recommendation 1
Government should replace the minimalistic approach to legislation with a clearer outline of the tests for employment status, setting out the key principles in primary legislation, and using secondary legislation and guidance to provide more detail.
Recommendation 2
Government should retain the current three-tier approach to employment status as it remains relevant in the modern labour market, but rename as 'dependent contractors' the category of people who are eligible for worker rights but who are not employees.
Recommendation 3
In developing the test for the new 'dependent contractor' status, control should be of greater importance, with less emphasis placed on the requirement to perform work personally.
Recommendation 4
In re-defining 'dependent contractor' status, Government should adapt the piece rates legislation to ensure those working in the gig economy are still able to enjoy maximum flexibility whilst also being able to earn the NMW.
Recommendation 5
In developing the new 'dependent contractor' test, renewed effort should be made to align the employment status framework with the tax status framework to ensure that differences between the two systems are reduced to an absolute minimum.
Recommendation 6
Government should build on legislative changes to further improve clarity and understanding by providing individuals and employers with access to an online tool that determines employment status in the majority of cases.
Recommendation 7
Government should build on and improve clarity, certainty and understanding of all working people by extending the right to a written statement to 'dependent contractors' as well as employees.
Recommendation 8
The Government should ask the LPC to consider the design and impacts of the introduction of a higher NMW rate for hours that are not guaranteed as part of the contract.
Recommendation 9
The Government should extend, from one week to one month, the consideration of the relevant break in service for the calculation qualifying period for continuous service and clarify the situations where cessations of work could be justified.
Recommendation 10
Government should do more to promote awareness of holiday pay entitlements, increasing the pay reference period to 52 weeks to take account of seasonal variations and give dependent contractors the opportunity to receive rolled-up holiday pay.
Recommendation 11
Government should amend the legislation to improve the transparency of information which must be provided to agency workers both in terms of rates of pay and those responsible for paying them.
Recommendation 12
Government should act to create a right to request a contract that guarantees hours which better reflect the actual hours worked, for those on zero hour contracts who have been in post for 12 months.
Recommendation 13
The Government should introduce a right to request a direct contract of employment for agency workers who have been placed with the same hirer for 12 months, and an obligation on the hirer to consider the request in a reasonable manner.
Recommendation 14
Government should examine the effectiveness of the Information and Consultation Regulations in improving employee engagement in the workplace. In particular it should extend the Regulation to include employees and workers and reduce the threshold for implementation from 10% to 2% of the workforce making the request.
Recommendation 15
Government should work with Investors in People, Acas, Trade Unions and others with extensive expertise in this area to promote further the development of better employee engagement and workforce relations, especially in sectors with significant levels of casual employment.
Recommendation 16
Government should introduce new duties on employers to report (and to bring to the attention of the workforce) certain information on workforce structure. The Government should require companies beyond a certain size to: make public their model of employment and use of agency services beyond a certain threshold; report on how many requests they have received (and number agreed to) from zero hours contracts workers for fixed hours after a certain period; and report on how many requests they have received (and number agreed) from agency workers for permanent positions with a hirer after a certain period.
Recommendation 17
The new Director of Labour Market Enforcement should consider whether the remit of EAS should be extended to cover policing umbrella companies and other intermediaries in the supply chain.
Recommendation 18
The Government should repeal the legislation that allows agency workers to opt out of equal pay entitlements. In addition, the Government should consider extending the remit of the EAS Inspectorate to include compliance with the AWR.
Recommendation 19
HMRC should take responsibility for enforcing the basic set of core pay rights that apply to all workers – NMW, sick pay and holiday pay for the lowest paid workers.
Recommendation 20
Government should ensure individuals are able to get an authoritative determination of their employment status without paying any fee and at an expedited preliminary hearing.
Recommendation 21
The burden of proof in employment tribunal hearings where status is in dispute should be reversed so that the employer has to prove that the individual is not entitled to the relevant employment rights, not the other way round subject to certain safeguards to discourage vexatious claims.
Recommendation 22
Government should make the enforcement process simpler for employees and workers by taking enforcement action against employers/engagers who do not pay employment tribunal awards without the employee/worker having to fill in extra forms or pay an extra fee and having to initiate additional court proceedings.
Recommendation 23
Government should establish a naming and shaming scheme for those employers who do not pay employment tribunal awards within a reasonable time. This could perhaps be an element of the reporting which we have suggested in relation to the composition of the workforce including the proportion of atypical workers in the workforce.
Recommendation 24
Government should create an obligation on employment tribunals to consider the use of aggravated breach penalties and costs orders if an employer has already lost an employment status case on broadly comparable facts – punishing those employers who believe they can ignore the law.
Recommendation 25
Government should allow tribunals to award uplifts in compensation if there are subsequent breaches against workers with the same or materially the same working arrangements.
Recommendation 26
The Review believes that the principles underlying the proposed NI reforms in the 2017 spring budget are correct. The level of NI contribution paid by employees and self-employed people should be moved closer to parity while the Government should also address those remaining areas of entitlement – parental leave in particular – where self-employed people lose out.
Recommendation 27
Government should continue to develop advice and support for people embarking on a self-employed career to ensure they have the greatest chance of succeeding. This includes ensuring that self-employment is considered by work coaches at Jobcentre Plus as an option where this would be appropriate as well as ensuring careers advice includes information on becoming your own boss.
Recommendation 28
Government should work with partners to create a Catalyst to stimulate the development of a range of WorkerTech models and platforms in the UK. This would allow new and emerging solutions to develop and grow, in a "sandbox environment" with a view to better supporting self-employed people.
Recommendation 29
Government should actively support technology that helps ensure self-employed people have the opportunity to come together and discuss the issues that are affecting them, working with employers to make sure this is positively encouraged.
Recommendation 30
Government should think creatively on ways to improve pension provision amongst the self-employed, making the most of opportunities presented by digital platforms and the move to more cashless transactions.
Recommendation 31
Government should continue to work with providers to ensure that self-employed people have access to online tools that support compliance with the principles of MTD even if they do not meet the minimum statutory threshold.
Recommendation 32
Government should consider accrediting a range of platforms designed to support the move towards more cashless transactions with a view to increasing transparency of payments, supporting individuals to pay the right tax.
Recommendation 33
HMRC should link up with others across government to examine whether the underlying principles of conditionality could be applied more broadly in this space, supporting both self-employed people and consumers in their choices.
Recommendation 34
As the new apprenticeship system beds in, Government should examine how it could be made to work better for those working atypically, including through agencies. The Government should ask the Institute for Apprenticeships to work with sectors using high levels of lower-paying and atypical work to ensure that they are making best use of the current apprenticeship framework. Following the delivery of the 3 million apprenticeships that it is committed to, Government should consider making the funding generated by the levy available for high-quality, off-the-job training other than Apprenticeships. The Institute for Apprenticeships should also be tasked with reporting on and addressing disparities in the take-up of apprenticeships for different groups.
Recommendation 35
Learning from the failings of Individual Learning Accounts the Government should explore a new approach to learning accounts, perhaps with an initial focus on those with a long working record, but who need to retrain and those in receipt of Universal Credit. The new £40 million Lifelong Learning Fund is a starting point for this and should be developed by bringing together employers, civic society and the education sector.
Recommendation 36
Government should use its convening power to bring together employers and the education sector to develop a consistent strategic approach to employability and lifelong learning. This should cover formal vocational training, 'on the job' learning and development, lifelong learning and informal learning outside work. It could be linked to the longer-term development of life-time digital individual learning records. As part of this, the Government should seek to develop a unified framework of employability skills and encourage stakeholders to use this framework.
Recommendation 37
Government should strongly encourage gig platforms to enable individuals to be able to carry their verified approval ratings with them when they move from the platform and to share them with third parties.
Recommendation 38
In developing a national careers strategy, the Government should pay particular attention to how those in low paid and atypical work are supported to progress. It should take a well-rounded approach, promoting the role of high-quality work experience and encounters at different education stages.
Recommendation 39
The Government should ensure that exploitative unpaid internships, which damage social mobility in the UK, are stamped out. The Government should do this by clarifying the interpretation of the law and encouraging enforcement action taken by HMRC in this area.
Recommendation 40
As part of the statutory evaluation of the Right to Request Flexible Working in 2019, Government should consider how further to promote genuine flexibility in the workplace. For example it should consider whether temporary changes to contracts might be allowed, to accommodate flexibility needed for a particular caring requirement. Government should work closely with organisations like Timewise and Working Families to encourage flexible working and initiatives like "happy to talk flexible working" to a wider range of employers.
Recommendation 41
Government should review and, in any event, consolidate in one place guidance on the legislation which protects those who are pregnant or on maternity leave to bring clarity to both employers and employees. In parallel with the range of non-legislative options and the consolidation set out above, the Government should consider further options for legislative intervention. If improvements around leadership, information and advice do not drive the culture change we are seeking, the Government will need to move quickly to more directive measures to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
Recommendation 42
We recommend that the relevant Government Departments – BEIS, DCLG, DWP and DH – explore ways of supporting and incentivising local authorities, particularly City Regions and combined authorities, to develop integrated approaches to improving health and wellbeing at work.
Recommendation 43
Government should reform Statutory Sick Pay so that it is explicitly a basic employment right, comparable to the National Minimum Wage, for which all workers are eligible regardless of income from day 1. It should be payable by the employer and should be accrued on length of service, in a similar way to paid holiday currently. Government should ensure that there is good awareness of the right amongst workers and businesses.
Recommendation 44
Those individuals with the relevant qualifying period are already entitled to have their job protected for a period of time when they are away from work for perfectly reasonable reasons, for instance, having a child. A similar approach should be adopted for sick leave with individuals having the right to return to the same or a similar job after a period of prolonged ill health. This right to return should be conditional on engagement with the Fit for Work Service when an assessment has been recommended.
Recommendation 45
Government should seek to develop a better understanding of what progression at work is and public policy levers influence it. Building on the trials to date, Government should work with external providers to determine what really works in supporting individuals to obtain better quality – and not just more – work. This should not be limited to increasing earnings to a level of self-sufficiency in Universal Credit and should take particular account of the effect of increases in the National Living Wage. It should reflect the opportunities offered by atypical and gig working.
Recommendation 46
The Government must place equal importance on the quality of work as it does on the quantity by making the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy responsible for the quality of work in the British economy.
Recommendation 47
The Government should identify a set of metrics against which it will measure success in improving work, reporting annually on the quality of work on offer in the UK.
Recommendation 48
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy should take the lead for Government in identifying emerging issues and be the custodian for ensuring market conditions allow for the creation of quality work.
Recommendation 49
The emphasis in industrial strategy and sector deals on technology and innovation should be linked to the importance of human factors in driving productivity and enabling more rewarding working lives.
Recommendation 50
The LPC should have its remit widened so that it can both make recommendations to Government on what needs to change (including NMW rates) to improve quality of work in the UK as well as work with employers, employees and stakeholders to promote quality work across all regions and sectors.
Recommendation 51
The LPC should work with experts, from the new Director of Labour Market Enforcement to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, as well as business groups and trade unions and make recommendations to Government if changes to the legal framework are needed to ensure fair and decent work is delivered.
Recommendation 52
The LPC should work with employers and worker representatives to ensure sector-specific codes of practice and guidance are developed that support the provision of quality work.
Recommendation 53
The LPC should promote what works in sectors and encourage greater collaboration to improve quality work in low-paying areas.
All text above is the review's.
No recommendations have this response.