The Deputy Prime Minister is pushing ahead with the legislation in the face of a backlash from businesses.
Angela Rayner says her plan will be good for workers and businesses (Image: Getty)
Angela Rayner is reportedly facing calls from her colleagues to water down her plans to change workers’ rights so they would be more palatable for industry leaders. The Deputy Prime Minister is expected to have to face down a coordinated ambush as business chiefs are said to be drafting a joint letter addressed to peers in the House of Lords before they debate the Employment Rights Bill next week.
A draft of the message from the B5 – a group of business groups, including the British Chambers of Commerce, CBI, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Institute of Directors (IoD) and Make UK – to the Lords warned of “grave unintended consequences” of giving workers further “day-one” rights, GB News reports. It added: “Our collective position is that, as currently drafted, the Bill will have deeply damaging implications for the Government’s priority growth mission but also their admirable focus on tackling rising economy inactivity and the growing number of young people currently classified as Neet.”
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The House of Lords is set to debate the Bill in the week (Image: Getty)
The document also read: “Taken together, that is a recipe for damaging, not raising, living standards.”
It added: “”Businesses will be forced to make difficult choices between jobs, investment and growth as the headroom for higher employment costs has already been more than taken up by the increases in employer NICs.”
It went on to say that there are “key areas” where the scope of the policy that will be enacted by the Bill goes “far beyond” the outcomes outlined in the Labour manifesto.
The letter concluded that “together, we are calling upon the Lords to fully scrutinise and improve this legislation” in order to find a “landing zone” that is both pro-worker and pro-business.
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The Government’s Bill has been slammed by business chiefs (Image: Getty)
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A Government spokesman said: “Through our transformative Plan for Change, this Government has delivered the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, and our measures already have strong support amongst business and the public.
“We’ve consulted extensively with business on our proposals, and we will engage on the implementation of legislation to ensure it works for employers and workers alike.”
Ms Rayner has described the legislation as “landmark” and “pro growth and pro business and pro worker”.
It includes a right to guaranteed hours, measures against zero-hour contracts without the offer of work, and new restrictions on “fire and rehire” processes when employees are let go and then re-employed on new contracts.
MPs in the House of Commons backed the Bill at its third reading 333 votes to 100, majority 233.
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