Employment reforms will ‘help solve UK’s Productivity Puzzle’

Employment reforms will “help solve UK’s Productivity Puzzle”

• Employment Rights Minister attends International Labour Conference to drive awareness of UK Government’s landmark Employment Rights Bill.
• Reforms will increase worker productivity, making UK businesses more internationally competitive.
• Changes to deliver the government’s Plan for Change, putting more money in people’s pockets and raising living standards.

The Government’s new workers’ rights reforms will make the UK more competitive through increasing productivity, Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders set out when he met global leaders in Geneva today.

Speaking at the International Labour Conference, he explained the key role Make Work Pay will play in generating inclusive growth, putting money back into the pockets of working people and boosting living standards as part of the Plan for Change.

A strong package of workers’ rights and protections for people at work go hand in hand with a strong economy, giving people more certainty over the hours they are working and what their wages will be, so they can have more confidence to spend on our high streets and in small businesses.

By taking this action to improve productivity through tackling insecurity and low pay, the Employment Rights Bill will help the UK catch up with more productive economies such as France and Germany, where stronger employment rights have gone hand-in-hand with economic success. 

Employment Rights Minister Justin Madders said

After years of playing catch up with our closest neighbours, our Plan for Change will see tens of millions of workers across the UK finally get the boost in living standards and protections that their hard work deserves.

Whether it be day one protections against unfair dismissal, the right to guaranteed hours or making flexible working the default, the Employment Rights Bill is putting money straight back into the pockets of working people.

We want to make the UK the world’s best place to work, and delivering real change for workers will help solve the UK’s productivity puzzle and get our economy growing once again.

During the conference, the Minister held discussions with ministers from a wide variety of countries to gain insights into how they have grappled with complex issues facing labour markets, including how to implement employment rights reforms that support and balance the needs of workers and businesses.

Leaders he met with included United States Deputy Labour Secretary Keith Sonderling; Luiz Marinho, Minister of Labour and Employment of Brazil; Sandra Hassan, Deputy Minister for Labour in Canada; Yiannis Panayiotou, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance of Cyprus; and Gilbert Houngbo, Director General of the International Labour Organization.

The UK Government’s flagship Employment Rights Bill will provide the biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation, banning unfair practices like exploitative zero-hours contracts to deliver more security for working people, whilst also providing day one protections against unfair treatment and unscrupulous fire and rehire tactics as well as extending rights to sick pay.  

Nearly 75% of the UK public back policies in the Employment Rights Bill, which is why this Government is going further and faster to deliver the change so that everyone in the UK feels the reward of their hard work and can aspire for a better quality of life.

NOTES TO EDITORS