Government and campaigns
As of 20 September the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill has been granted royal assent by King Charles III. This means that the bill will be introduced into the statute book as the Predictable Working Act.
This act introduces a right for all workers to request a more stable working pattern after they have worked in the same role at the same hirer for a set period of time. This timeframe is currently expected to be 26 weeks and will be confirmed in further regulations. The 26-week period was settled on following campaigns efforts by the REC and is an improvement on the originally proposed 12-week timeframe which would have led to this legislation having a much wider impact.
For REC members this will mean that their agency workers are able to request a more stable contract after they have been working on assignment for a period of 26 weeks. This right would be to request a more stable contract working for the same end-hirer with which they have been working. The request could be made either to the agency or to the client directly. A request of this nature can be rejected for a number of reasons which will be set out in subsequent regulations but will cover a range of legitimate business reasons.
Now the bill has been granted royal assent, it will be introduced to the UK statute book. There is currently no set time frame for when this will take place and the content of the act will therefore come into force. ACAS is currently working on statutory guidance to accompany the act and are expected to issue a public consultation on this later this year. Further regulations will also need to be pursuant to the act to specify the scope, application and extent of the right to request a more stable working pattern. REC has been assured that we will be involved in the process of drafting these regulations and will continue to work with the Department for Business and Trade on this. REC will also keep members updated and involved in any further developments.
The REC has been concerned about the potential impact of this legislation since its initial proposal. This bill could have a negative impact on the UK's labour market by undermining the inherent flexibility of the temporary labour market. Given ongoing labour and skills shortages, coupled with a challenging economic climate, undermining the value of the UK’s £43 billion temporary labour market seems an odd choice for the government.
The REC has made our concerns over this legislation well known throughout its progression to royal assent. Earlier this month we met with Kevin Hollinrake, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business to discuss the potential negative and unintended consequences of this bill. Our concerns were received well during this meeting, and the shift to 26 weeks from 12 was one of the key takeaways from this session. REC also made clear our concerns around the lack of explicit mention of umbrella companies in this legislation, something else that the minister was very receptive to.
The REC has also been vocal about limiting the right to request for agency workers to be made to agencies only. The worker in this case has no prior contractual relationship with the hirer and introducing a dialogue between them will be complicated and in reality, most likely handled via the agency anyway. Removing this aspect of the proposal will help to manage requests in an effective manner and preserve the existing relationships in place during an agency worker's usual assignment.
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