Shipbuilding
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Burt of Solihull
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, we are continuing to work with BAE Systems to further mature the Type 26 design, including our March investment of a further £472 million. Our total investment so far is £1.6 billion into the Type 26 frigates, which is hard evidence of our commitment and real progress. In common with all equipment procurement programmes, the schedule is set at the main investment decision, and we have not yet reached that decision point.
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
My Lords, the manufacture and sale of ships is by nature an international endeavour. Is not the worst thing that we could do for the shipbuilding industry and other industries to cut ourselves off from our largest trade partner? Has the Minister made any assessment of the impact that leaving the EU would have on our shipbuilding industry?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, our shipbuilding industry, as the noble Baroness is undoubtedly aware, is confined mostly to warships. However, we are very successful in some of our export systems, throughout the whole world and not necessarily just to Europe. We are specifically exporting electronics, optronics and weapons handling systems. Current programmes include Australia, Norway, Germany and Poland.
Commercial Debt: Late Payments
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Burt of Solihull
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, my noble friend refers to the performance review in the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act. My noble friend will be glad to hear that consultation will be as wide as possible.
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
My Lords, this report lifts the lid on the abuse suffered by suppliers at the hands of Tesco. On late payments, the Liberal Democrats urged the Government to impose statutory fines for repeat offenders in the Enterprise Bill, which was alluded to by Labour earlier. The Government refused, and the Small Business Commissioner, who the Minister has already mentioned, has barely any powers to tackle this scourge. In the light of this report today, and if the Government do not want to be perceived as having a deferential attitude towards big business, will they think again?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, I cannot answer for part of what the noble Baroness says, but, basically, the whole issue is for companies to treat their suppliers in a way that cuts down late payments. However, the noble Baroness is quite right to say that we are not going to impose sanctions as she described.
Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hours Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Burt of Solihull
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. This is the first time that I have taken part in a Grand Committee. He said that pressure is put on people to comply, and an ordinary worker may find the legal redress a little confusing. Do the regulations contain a provision to deal with situations where emotional pressure is put on an individual who may not have an official exclusivity contract but it is understood that if they contravene the contract and go to work elsewhere they will not be asked to work again?
The Earl of Courtown
I think that, in a nutshell, the noble Baroness is talking about protection for the vulnerable worker. I cannot give her an answer at this moment but I will write to her.
Concerning the income threshold, during the last Parliament the Government announced the idea of extending the ban on exclusivity clauses to contracts that did not guarantee a set income threshold. We will now look at this aspect further, considering any evidence of avoidance of the ban. To date, the Government have seen no evidence of employers finding ways to get round the ban on exclusivity clauses.
The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, asked why the self-employed are not covered. The exclusivity ban protects all employees and workers who have exclusivity terms included as part of their zero-hours contract—that is, a contract which does not guarantee paid hours of work. These provisions do not cover those who are genuinely self-employed and undertake work on a zero-hours contract arrangement. For example, a self-employed contractor might take up work offered on a zero-hours basis from a number of regular clients but remain self-employed. This is because self-employed individuals will negotiate their own terms as part of their contractual arrangements with their clients.
The noble Lord also raised the important issue of employment tribunal fees and said that they represented a prohibitive cost for those on zero-hour contracts. As in the case of any other complaint submitted to an employment tribunal, anyone who feels that they cannot afford to pay the associated costs can make an application for a fee remission—that is, to have the fees waived or reduced. An individual can apply for remission of the fee-paying stage and so would not be out of pocket. Complainants who are in receipt of universal credit and have less than £3,000 in savings and gross annual earnings of less than £6,000 would automatically qualify for remission of fees. Complainants will qualify for full remission of their employment tribunal fees if they have savings of less than £3,000 and are in receipt of certain qualifying benefits, such as income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income support. They may also qualify for full or partial remission if their household savings and gross income fall below or within a specified threshold.
The noble Lord also mentioned compensation. We do not believe that the regulations should stipulate the level of compensation to be awarded. This is a matter that the court should decide, given the individual circumstances of each case.
The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, also mentioned the rights of those on zero-hours contracts and on other casual contracts. There is a misconception that those on a zero-hour contract do not have employment rights or have fewer rights than those on other types of contract. Everyone, regardless of contract type, has employment rights. The employment status of an individual will determine whether they are an employee or a worker; employees and workers have different employment rights. However, let me be clear that people working under a zero-hours contract have the same day one rights as any other worker or employee. When there is a qualifying period for certain rights—for instance, entitlement to maternity pay—they must meet this condition, just as with any other worker or employee.
I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, to the Moses Room. She asked whether emotional pressure could be taken into account. It would be a matter for the court to consider what the detriment is in each case.
Finally, I reiterate that the Government are committed to ensuring that exploitative practices identified around zero-hours contracts are eradicated, so that those on this side of the contract have a fair deal. The regulations are supported by the majority who responded to a consultation period on this matter. I commend the regulations to the Committee.
Restaurants: Service Charge
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Burt of Solihull
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, sticking initially to the national minimum wage, when the Labour Government brought in the voluntary code of practice in 2008-09, they made it clear that tips and gratuities should not be used to uprate wages to meet the national minimum wage. The living wage will be coming in this year and will help many of the lower paid.
Baroness Burt of Solihull (LD)
My Lords, the Autumn Statement last week referred to lower productivity in the UK than in other countries. I imagine that one’s desire to work hard may be diminished by the knowledge that one’s employer is hanging on to one’s tips. I think that the voluntary code introduced in the other place clearly is not working. Would the Minister please ensure that, following the evidence review, steps are taken to ensure that employers who hold on to tips are named and shamed?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, this was drawn to the attention of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in the other place. We will look at all the issues when it comes to the report being made.