The government has been warned against allowing amendments from the Lords to water down its flagship Employment Rights Bill, with seven leading women’s organisations arguing that this would hamper efforts to tackle gender inequality.
In a joint letter to the new business secretary, Peter Kyle, seen by The Independent, the Women’s Budget Group, the Fawcett Society, Young Women’s Trust, Rights of Women, Women’s Resource Centre, Pregnant Then Screwed, and Maternity Action have warned that the measures included in the bill are “crucial to improving women’s material living conditions and to reducing the gender pay gap”.
The letter is in response to a number of amendments made to the legislation in the House of Lords before the summer recess, including proposals to introduce a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal and to make the right to a guaranteed hours contract a right to request, rather than a right to be offered.
Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson said the bill would be delivered in full (PA)
The Employment Rights Bill, which is in its final parliamentary stages, was championed by the former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and former employment rights minister Justin Madders.
Both have left the posts they were in when the legislation was taken through the Commons, which has raised concerns among campaign groups and unions.
As the Commons gears up to consider Lords amendments on Monday, the collection of women’s organisations has warned that “any delay or dilution would undermine both gender equality and the government’s promise to working people”, saying the legislation is a “once-in-a-generation chance to help close the gender pay gap”.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary and the minister for women and equalities, last week insisted that the government planned to deliver the Employment Rights Bill in full, “no ifs, no buts”. However, there are fears that Lords amendments could be accepted following concerns voiced that the legislation as it stood could hamper business.
The letter points to figures from the Trades Union Congress which indicate that women are 34 per cent more likely than men to be on zero-hours contracts, reaching 103 per cent for black and minority ethnic women compared to white men and 49 per cent for disabled women. Figures from the Women’s Budget Group also show that of the 1.3 million people who do not qualify for statutory sick pay, 70 per cent are women.
The letter argues that “stamping out exploitative zero-hours contracts, including for agency workers, and giving protections to workers whose shifts are cancelled last minute” are essential for advancing gender equality, and that such measures would mean women “won’t be out of pocket for childcare costs that allow them to work”.
Campaigners have written to business secretary Peter Kyle to stress the importance of the bill (PA)
It also states that day-one rights to request flexible working, paternity leave and statutory sick pay without a lower earnings limit are all measures that women would disproportionately benefit from.
The campaign groups said that “stamping out exploitative zero hours contracts, including for agency workers, and giving protections to workers whose shifts are cancelled last minute, means women won’t be out of pocket for childcare costs that allow them to work”, while “protections for the 54,000 pregnant women and new mothers a year who experience employment discrimination can’t come soon enough”.
Dr Sara Reis, deputy director at the Women’s Budget Group, said: “Women still make up the bulk of low-paid and insecure workers and stand to benefit the most from the Employment Rights Bill.
“This legislation is a once-in-a-generation chance to help close the gender pay gap, lift living standards and strengthen the economy by giving those workers stronger rights and more security. But this ambition must be seen through, which is why we have written to the new minister Peter Kyle. Any delay or dilution would undermine both gender equality and the government’s promise to working people.”
The letter adds: “Women’s position in the labour market continues to be influenced by systems and structures that disadvantage them, largely driven by the 75 per cent more unpaid care work they do than men.”
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, has also urged the government not to water down the bill following ministerial changes in recent days, saying people expect Labour to deliver on the promises it made during the general election campaign.
“The government must, and should, deliver on the promises it gave to the British people last July,” he said. “Tory and Lib Dem peers are desperately trying to water this bill down. We’ve got the shameful sight of hereditary peers blocking carers and cleaners from getting fair treatment at work. This isn’t the 1800s. It’s 2025.”
Addressing the TUC conference last week, Bridget Phillipson said: “Let there be no doubt. One year ago we were elected to deliver this Employment Rights Bill and, congress, that is what we will do.
“We will not accept any watering down by the Lords. Forward with the Employment Rights Bill in full. No ifs, no buts – forward. Let’s change this country together.”
A Government spokesperson said: “The Employment Rights Bill is the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation. This government was elected on a manifesto to make work pay, and we remain absolutely committed to that.
“This landmark bill will end exploitative zero hours contracts, improve access to flexible working, make parental and paternity leave available from day one and create the Fair Work Agency to uphold employment rights.”
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