Employment Rights Bill must reflect sector’s position, UKH says
The trade body has reiterated the need for legislation to ‘reflect the unique circumstances of the sector’ compared to office jobs
UKH has urged the government to ensure the “unique” circumstances of the industry are reflected in any changes made to the Employment Rights Bill.
It comes as the Bill’s four technical consultations officially closed this week (Tuesday 2 December).
The trade body has submitted responses to each consultation, building on the evidence that it provided to the Employment Rights Public Bill Committee in the last week of November, when it shared “extensive” operator feedback.
At the same committee, UKH reiterated the need for legislation to “reflect the unique circumstances of the sector” compared to office jobs.
In its submissions, the trade body has highlighted that the proposed changes to statutory sick pay – in which statutory sick pay will be payable from the first day of absence rather than the fourth – will have the unintended consequence of incentivising absenteeism. UKH believes it is also supporting the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit so that all workers are entitled to it, at a proposed rate of 50% of the individual’s earnings.
UKH also does not agree that agency workers who have worked regularly for a business should be given guaranteed hours contracts, calling it “impractical and unworkable” because it “does not reflect the nature of agency work”.
According to UKH, there is also no support from the hospitality sector for the lowering of thresholds for union recognition. It suggested that thresholds need to be maintained to allow for “a properly democratic process to take place”.
Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKH, said: “We are pleased to provide our recommendations to the government on its first set of consultations on its Employment Rights Bill. It’s imperative that we continue to work closely with the government on this bill to ensure that the resulting legislation is right for hospitality businesses.
“To date, the government has listened to UKHospitality and ensured the legislation does enable employees to continue to have the right to flexible working, which ensures that as an industry we can support getting those furthest from the labour market into work.”
She added: “For hospitality businesses to be in a position to deliver on the ambitions within the Employment Rights Bill, it’s vital that the government urgently addresses the upcoming changes to employer National Insurance Contributions.”
