Oral Answers to Questions
Kate Dearden Excerpts(2 days, 16 hours ago)
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Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
As this is my first time at the Dispatch Box, if I may I would like to thank my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders). It is an honour to build on his work, particularly on employment rights and championing fairness and dignity at work.
Hospitality businesses, including those in the constituency of the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller), are vital to the UK economy, driving growth, creating jobs, and strengthening our communities. The Government are delivering targeted support under the small and medium-sized enterprises strategy to boost productivity, cut red tape and revitalise our high streets. Our £1.5 million hospitality scheme aims to help businesses boost productivity and adapt to local needs, while the licensing taskforce seeks to address unnecessary barriers that hospitality businesses face. Furthermore, we plan to permanently reduce business rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
Several hon. Members rose—
Calum Miller
I wish all the questions were just about Bicester and Woodstock.
I welcome the Minister to her place. Becky, who runs the Red Lion in Eynsham, and Donna, who runs the Oxfordshire Yeoman in Freeland, tell me that they are working upwards of 80 hours a week just to keep their pubs open. Despite loyal customers and rising turnover, they are struggling to meet soaring bills from employment costs, food, energy, business rates and a tied tenancy, which means that prices are over £100 more per barrel. In small villages across my constituency, pubs are the lifeblood and fabric of the community. Will the Minister meet Becky, Donna and me to discuss what more the Government can do to support the vital village pub?
Kate Dearden
I agree with the hon. Member that pubs are the lifeblood of our local communities. We recognise the challenges facing the hospitality sector, particularly our pubs. They play such an important role in our local communities as places where people can come together to celebrate, connect and build communities, and that is especially true of the pubs that he mentioned in his constituency. I would of course be happy to meet him and his pub managers to celebrate their contribution to his constituency. We continue to work closely with the Hospitality Sector Council and industry leaders across the country to understand the pressures facing pubs, and to co-create solutions for the long-term stability and local economic growth that are vital for our communities and our country.
Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
I thank my hon. Friend for his long-standing advocacy in this area. We want to work constructively with unions, employers and stakeholders to build on the Employment Rights Bill. Our first priority for a fair pay agreement is adult social care, a large and complex sector with over 19,000 providers and 1.5 million dedicated workers. As such, our priority is ensuring that this process works effectively, which is why I am delighted that the Government have announced a £500 million investment in the first ever fair pay agreement in the social care sector. We will use what we learn to consider where fair pay agreements can offer similar benefits across other sectors.
Andy McDonald
I thank the Minister for her response, but with the cost of living pressures continuing, it is clear that delivering increased real incomes and better living standards is our No. 1 priority. Can the Minister say a little more about which further sectors are most ready for fair pay agreements, and what steps the Department is taking to meet the UK’s obligations, as a member of the International Labour Organisation, to extend sectoral collective bargaining as a means to raise pay and improve living standards?
Kate Dearden
I welcome my hon. Friend’s support for sectoral collective bargaining and collective agreements as a key steer for improving living standards across workplaces in the country. As he knows, we are demonstrating our commitment to sectoral collective bargaining with the social care and school support staff sectors. The UK is committed to working internationally to strengthen workers’ rights and enhance Labour standards globally. We fully support the work of the International Labour Organisation and will continue to meet our obligations under the ILO.
Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
I launched my “Pub of the Year” award at the Goods Yard in Broadstone last week. Fifty-four pubs and two breweries in Mid Dorset and North Poole support 1,600 jobs and underpin the vibrancy of our towns and villages, but two thirds of them have had to cut jobs or hours since the damaging jobs tax. Hospitality venues typically operate seven days a week, and sometimes more than 12 hours a day, so they need many part-time workers. Will the Government consult on a new lower rate of employer national insurance for workers earning £5,000 to £9,100, to support the employment of part-time workers and drive growth?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
I come from a small business family in the hospitality sector, so I completely understand how important the sector is for local economies and jobs—especially pubs, which are the backbone of our high streets and important for pride in our local economies and communities. We are helping pubs through our £1.5 million hospitality support scheme, and through brilliant initiatives such as Pub is The Hub, for which £440,000 was recently announced. More will be announced soon.
Employment Rights Bill: October Consultation
Kate Dearden Excerpts(1 week, 2 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
The Government’s top priority is to grow the economy and improve living standards. We are clear that we cannot build a strong economy while people are in insecure work. For too long, employment law has failed to keep pace with fundamental changes to how, when and where we work. This has allowed bad actors to take advantage of loopholes in the current law via exploitative practices, fuelling a race to the bottom, undercutting responsible businesses, and eroding the living standards of working people. We are clear that unfair competition, where a bad employer undercuts a good employer by reducing the terms and conditions of service for their employees, is bad for business, bad for workers and bad for growth.
Our plan to make work pay will modernise our employment rights legislation, extending the employment protections already given by the best British companies to millions more workers across the country. Strengthening this underlying framework will make work more secure and predictable, putting more money into working people’s pockets and strengthening the foundations that underpin a modern economy. It will also offer dignity to those going through the toughest personal circumstances, support working families to juggle the demands of work and raising children and help more working parents to stay in the workplace. This is a win-win. Policies that improve workforce wellbeing and job satisfaction also improve retention, boost productivity, promote fair competition and economic growth.
We are committed to full and comprehensive consultation with employers, workers, trade unions and civil society. By delivering this change together, we will back employers who do the right thing and give hard-working people the security, fairness and job satisfaction they deserve. As set out in our “Implementing the Employment Rights Bill” publication (published 1 July 2025), we are taking a phased approach to engagement and consultation on these reforms. This will ensure stakeholders have the time and space to work through the detail of each measure and to help us implement each in the interests of all.
Today I am launching an initial package of consultations covering the following four measures. Alongside a programme of direct stakeholder engagement, these will support us in determining how best to put our plans into practice.
Consultation 1: enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers
Discriminating against women because they are pregnant or on maternity leave is already unlawful. However, pregnant women and new mothers continue to face a significant and unique risk to their job security. Every parent should feel secure at work, and that includes ensuring motherhood is not a barrier.
Starting with the Employment Rights Bill, the Government are introducing legislation which will make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave, and mothers who return to work for at least a six-month period—except in specific circumstances. The Bill establishes the requisite powers to then set out the detail of the policy in regulations. Other powers taken ensure that those taking other types of family-related leave can be brought into the policy’s scope, subject to the outcome of the consultation.
The consultation seeks views on how the enhanced dismissal protections should work in practice, including the “specific circumstances” in which the dismissal of pregnant women and new mothers should still be allowed; when the protections should start and end; whether other new parents should be covered by the protections; policy measures to support implementation and impact; and how to mitigate against any unintended consequences.
This consultation will close after 12 weeks on 15 January 2026.
Consultation 2: bereavement leave
Bereavement and the loss of a loved one is a deeply personal experience that impacts everyone differently. In some cases, employees will need to take time and space away from work to grieve; in other cases, employees might wish to continue working as normal. For too long, employees facing bereavement have had to navigate their grief without the security of knowing they have a legal right to the time they need away from work. While many employers do give their employees the time they need, some do not. Fair competition demands some statutory protections for bereaved workers.
The Employment Rights Bill introduces a new statutory right to bereavement leave which will ensure all employees have a right to time away from work to grieve. Government amendments tabled on Report in the Lords extend bereavement leave to include pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, to enable the Government to consult on the full range of bereavement leave and ensure long overdue recognition for the women and families affected by pregnancy loss.
The Bill provides framework powers to establish the new right to bereavement leave, and we are consulting on the details to be set out in secondary legislation, ensuring that the entitlement is fully informed by the needs of both employers and employees from the outset.
The Bill sets out that the leave must be a minimum of one week and employees must be allowed at least 56 days from the date of the loss in which to take the leave. The consultation will ask questions about who should be eligible for bereavement leave, including specific questions on different types of pregnancy loss. The consultation will also ask for views on the maximum length of leave and the timeframe in which it should be taken, and what else the Government can do to support employers to implement the new entitlement to bereavement leave, such as guidance. Lastly, the consultation will ask for views on what notice and evidence requirements an employee may be required to give to an employer to allow us to balance the needs of bereaved individuals with the needs of their employers to manage staff absence with minimum disruption.
This consultation will close after 12 weeks on 15 January 2026.
Consultation 3: trade union employer duty to inform
A lack of awareness about the right to join a trade union may be contributing to reduced engagement from workers in collective bargaining and access to representation when they need it. At present, employers are not required to inform workers of this right, either at the start of employment or subsequently. While employees and workers are legally protected if they choose to join a union, there is no obligation on employers to make them aware of this. This legal omission needs correction in law.
The Employment Rights Bill will introduce a new duty on employers to provide their workers with a written statement of their right to join a trade union at the start of their employment and at other times. This new duty addresses an existing information gap by ensuring workers are better informed of their rights.
This consultation seeks views on how this duty should work in practice—what the statement should say, in what manner it should be given, and how often the statement should be delivered outside the start of employment.
The consultation will close after eight weeks on 18 December 2025.
Consultation 4: trade union right of access
Effective trade unions are important to tackling insecurity, inequality, discrimination, poor working conditions and low pay. The best employers value their role in the workplace and experience the benefits of working in partnership.
Within the current legislative framework, trade unions do not have an independent right of access to workplaces protected in law. They may only act through individual members or by voluntary access arrangements with employers. Where membership is limited, and there are no voluntary arrangements in place, there is limited scope for trade unions to represent and support their members in employment-related matters.
The Employment Rights Bill will establish a new legal framework for unions and employers to negotiate access into the workplace, formalising a trade union’s right to access workplaces physically, and to communicate with workers both in person and digitally. A statutory access framework gives clarity to employers on how to agree access and will enable unions to contribute positively to workplace culture, fostering open communication and trust between workers and employers and leading to more stable and constructive industrial relations.
We are seeking views on how this framework should operate in practice, consulting on the practical details of the policy before we set them out in secondary legislation. The consultation will cover how unions will request access and how employers will respond; factors the Central Arbitration Committee will take into account when determining whether access should be granted and on what terms; and how breaches of access agreements should be assessed by the CAC.
The consultation will close after eight weeks on 18 December 2025.
Next steps for consultation
This package sets out the next steps in delivering our plans. As trailed in “Implementing the Employment Rights Bill”, further packages of consultations are planned for later in the autumn and into the winter. These will be central to shaping the practical implementation of this legislation, helping Government deliver reforms that are both effective and inclusive. It is in everyone’s interest to get the relationship between employer and employee right. These consultations will help us make work pay for both.
[HCWS986]
Trade Union Workplace Access
Kate Dearden Excerpts(1 week, 3 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) for securing today’s important debate—I know we say it a lot that debates are important, but this one truly is. It is close to my heart, as I know it is to my hon. Friend’s.
I thank my hon. Friend for his contributions to debates during the passage of the Employment Rights Bill, including on this specific issue. It was always a pleasure to work with him on this topic in my previous life working for a trade union for many years—in fact, I declare my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a proud trade union member. The amendments that my hon. Friend tabled on Report, which he alluded to in his speech, demonstrate his interest in this area, and I welcome his continued commitment to a productive discussion on the topic today. I thank all other members here for their contributions and interest in this topic—not just hon. Members, but proud trade unionists and friends.
As my hon. Friend will know, the Government’s plan to make work pay and our Employment Rights Bill represent the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. Taken together, they support our plan for change by ensuring that employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empowering working people and contributing to economic growth.
The Employment Rights Bill creates a modern, fairer labour market where workers are better protected, more empowered and supported through every stage of working life. It is pro-worker and pro-business, and it supports the Government’s objective of boosting growth and improving living standards across the country. As part of that, the Government are strengthening collective bargaining rights and trade union recognition—I want to take a moment to say how proud I am to be saying that from the Front Bench. After many years of the previous Government, who sought to weaken workers’ voices and trade union rights, we are rebuilding a culture of respect and co-operation with trade unions.
I know that my hon. Friend will agree that trade unions are essential to tackling issues of insecurity, inequality, discrimination, enforcement and low pay across the economy. The Employment Rights Bill will modernise trade union legislation, giving trade unions greater freedom to organise, represent and negotiate on behalf of their members. Strong trade unions are key partners in building a stronger, fairer economy.
A key part of our reforms in this area is the introduction of a new trade union right of access. Under existing legislation, trade unions do not have a general right of access to workplaces and can exercise their functions only through individual trade union members in the workplace or through access that has been agreed on a voluntary basis with the employer. In situations in which membership is limited and no voluntary agreement is in place, there is limited scope for trade unions to exercise their core functions within the workplace. Although the Government want employers and unions to continue to agree and use those voluntary access arrangements where possible, the Bill introduces a new right for trade unions to access the workplace in a responsible and regulated manner. That will provide certainty and clarity to all parties involved.
It is worth explaining briefly how the new right of access will work in practice, which will hopefully answer lots of my hon. Friend’s questions. Under the new right of access, an independent union can provide an employer with a request for access. That could be a request for physical access to a building or virtual access to a group of workers—such as via a Teams call—or both. My hon. Friend spoke eloquently about the importance of digital access as part of our consideration of the legislation.
If both parties agree on the terms of access between themselves, they will notify the Central Arbitration Committee to record the terms of the access agreement and proceed with the access as agreed. If no agreement can be reached within a set timeframe, the union or employer can refer the case to the CAC for a determination on whether access should be granted under the terms requested.
The CAC will make its determination on whether access should be granted in line with factors set out in secondary legislation. If the access application meets certain conditions, it will qualify for a potentially expedited route through the CAC process. The CAC will also enforce access agreements once they are in place, hearing complaints about breaches of those agreements by any party, with the power to issue fines for non-compliance.
This debate is timely, because the Government will shortly be launching a public consultation on the details of the new trade union right of access policy, including the matters that the CAC must have regard to when deciding whether access should take place and the level of fines for non-compliance with access agreements. We want to see a fair and workable access framework, so the Government strongly encourage unions and employers of all types and sizes to share their views. As I say, the Government are committed to strengthening collective bargaining rights and trade union recognition, and we see the new right of access as a key part of that.
In that light, when the CAC takes decisions on access, it will be guided by the access principles provided for in the Employment Rights Bill. Those principles set out that trade unions should be provided access to workplaces
“in any manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the employer’s business”
and that the employer
“should take reasonable steps to facilitate”
that access. They also set out that
“access should be refused entirely only where it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.”
The principles provide a default in favour of access, but the Government are aware that some employers may find it more difficult than others to facilitate access arrangements, and that there may be circumstances where it would not be appropriate for access to take place. That is why we will consult on the factors that the CAC should take into account when deciding on access, and consult on what the value of fines should be for non-compliance.
Ian Lavery
Does the Minister agree that it is absolutely essential that lawbreakers and bad employers are not allowed to price in any breaking of the law to the detriment of people in the workplace?
Kate Dearden
I agree with my hon. Friend, and enforcement will be really key to that. I encourage him to get involved in the consultation and to share his views on exactly that point.
The Government will review responses to those two consultation questions with interest, as we will the responses to the consultation as a whole. The consultation matters, because it is important that the implementation of the right of access works in practice, not just on paper. That is why the Government have committed to support businesses throughout the implementation of the Bill, and why we will produce a new code of practice for the policy. That will contain practical guidance on how access should take place in practice to help support employers and businesses to manage the process smoothly and effectively. The Government will consult on that code next year before the new right comes into force in October 2026.
My hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East also mentioned enforcement, and I welcome his support for the Fair Work Agency and its newly appointed chair, Matthew Taylor. Strengthening our labour market, compliance and enforcement is absolutely key to this issue, and to our wider Employment Rights Bill.
Andy McDonald
Does the Minister agree that there are many good employers across our economy who actively engage and encourage trade union access and recognition? They could be of great service in the process that she describes for supporting other businesses as the regulations are implemented.
Kate Dearden
I could not agree more. There is brilliant practice across the country and across workplaces, with good employers and unions working together in the better interests of the workforce. That is why the Employment Rights Bill, which the Government are proud to be implementing, is such a positive step forward for workers, employers and our wider economy.
The new right of access will deliver for everybody, recognising the needs of unions and employers. Building on the good work that already exists across this country, it will deliver on our make work pay commitment to ensure access is responsible and regulated. It will also provide the opportunity for many workers to understand their rights and access trade unions, which are such a vital part of our economy.
I look forward to working closely with my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East and with all other hon. Members present, on both sides of the House, to deliver this positive change for the British economy. I thank my hon. Friend again for securing the debate, and I thank all other hon. Members who have contributed to it. I look forward to working with them as part of this agenda.
Question put and agreed to.
Employment Rights: Impact on Businesses
Kate Dearden Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)
It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison, in what I am proud to say is my first time responding for the Department in a Westminster Hall debate. I thank the shadow Minister and all other Members for their kind words and welcome. I am grateful for all the thoughtful and considered contributions from both sides of the Chamber.
Business impact rightly remains a recurring theme in discussions on the Employment Rights Bill. I pay tribute to the SMEs and businesses that all Members have mentioned today, and particularly to those in my constituency that I have had the pleasure to meet over the past year, as their Member of Parliament. I am delighted to have the opportunity to reiterate this Bill’s positive impact on employers, workers and the wider economy.
I also pay tribute to the work done by those before us, not least that of my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders)—
Dame Harriett Baldwin
On a point of order, Dr Murrison. I appreciate that this is the Minister’s first time responding to a debate in Westminster Hall. My point of order is simply that she may wish to consider putting her entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests on the record.
Kate Dearden
I was just about to get to that point. I thank the shadow Minister for the reminder.
I pay tribute to my predecessor for all his work and to the officials and colleagues who worked with him. Many Members of this House and the other place engaged constructively with the team, and their insight has materially shaped the Bill. I thank them for their valuable insights. Likewise, the Bill has been shaped by extensive engagement from external stakeholders, businesses, trade unions and civil society alike. I thank them all for their engagement to date, and I reassure them that this Government remain committed to full and proper consultation on the Bill’s implementation.
I declare my interest as a proud trade union member. I look forward to working with trade unions, businesses and all stakeholders, and to continuing the positive engagement that many stakeholders have had with the Department and with this Government so far.
The Government were elected on a manifesto that committed to implementing “Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay” in full and to putting more money in working people’s pockets. The Employment Rights Bill is the legislative backbone of that promise. We will deliver the single biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation. That is good for workers and good for business, because we believe that a strong package of workers’ rights and protections go hand in hand with a strong economy. Many good employers already know that. When staff feel secure, they stay longer, are more productive and help the business to succeed. The Bill will help to make that the norm across the economy.
Our first mission as a Government is to deliver economic growth in every single part of the country. The Employment Rights Bill is a vital step. It represents a cornerstone of our mission to grow the economy, and it is designed to modernise the UK labour market, raise living standards and support long-term growth.
Securing that growth is worth doing only if working people actually feel the benefits of it in their pay, in their security and in their daily lives. Too many people face practices that undermine both their security and our economy, from fire and rehire to zero-hours contracts and last-minute shift cancellations. Those practices breed insecurity, and insecurity stifles productivity.
That is why the Bill is at the centre of the Government’s plans and is so significant. It will benefit at least 15 million workers, or half of all UK workers, protecting them from those practices and providing economic safety for the lowest paid in our labour market.
Let us consider a few of the changes that the Bill will bring. Some 9 million employees will gain protection from unfair dismissal, not after two years, but from day one. Workers in some of the most deprived parts of the country will keep hundreds of pounds a year in their pockets instead of losing them to the hidden costs of insecure work, and nearly 1 million more people each year will benefit from bereavement leave when they lose a loved one.
I thank the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) for her comments in support of the Bill and of the Government’s work in this area, and for her work on the impact of bullying in the workplace over a number of years. I would be happy to meet her to discuss those matters further.
Economic impacts were a key part of the contribution of the hon. Member for Spelthorne. Some still argue that stronger rights are a cost, but I reject that. Stronger rights are an investment in people, in stability and in long-term growth. As set out in the Government’s published impact assessments for the Bill—I will respond in detail to his points on that—there are clear, evidence-based benefits to tackling issues holding back the UK labour market, which will have a positive impact on economic growth and will help to raise living standards across the country.
Steve Barclay
I join colleagues in welcoming the Minister to her place. She said in her reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp) that there would not be an additional cost, but the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has raised concerns about the additional costs and the funding gap, given that it will fall on local authorities and will therefore, in turn, require Government support. Could she clarify what she expects to be the extra cost of the Bill in terms of social care?
Kate Dearden
I am happy to come back to the right hon. Member on the particular social care interests and concerns that he might have.
Improving worker wellbeing, supporting productivity, reducing workplace conflict and creating a more level playing field for good employers would grant significant benefits, worth billions of pounds per year. That is why delivering the benefits of the Bill would offset the costs. That assessment is shared by organisations such as the Resolution Foundation. The £5 billion figure from our impact assessment, which the hon. Member for Spelthorne mentioned, is a top-end estimate of that cost, and will largely represent a direct transfer to the lowest paid in society, with the central estimate close to £1 billion. Even if we take that high-end estimate, the costs are therefore likely to be less than 0.4% of our national wage bill, and could even be as low as 0.1%. That is our best estimate at this stage.
Andy McDonald
If workers are in good, well-paid work, they can go on to lead good, flourishing lives, and they will return that as a dividend through their collaboration with their employer. They will also be in a position to be more active in the economy. We know that when working people have money, they are able to spend it and generate activity in the economy. Does the Minister agree?
Kate Dearden
I absolutely agree that all workers will benefit in some way from the Bill and be able to give back to the economy, whether by spending in the local economy or by contributing to other local businesses.
Lincoln Jopp
I think I am right in saying that the impact assessment’s estimate of a cost of £5 billion was at the higher end, but I read out quite an extensive set of quotations from the RPC saying that it was an inadequate impact assessment and that it completely under-gunned the financial impact of the measures. Does she just think that the RPC is wrong?
Kate Dearden
I will come back to the hon. Member’s point in a moment. A number of the measures already have strong support from businesses. An Institute for Public Policy Research survey of businesses found that the majority—at least 75%—supported the measures in our Bill, including nearly seven in 10 small businesses.
The hon. Member also mentioned the Regulatory Policy Committee’s opinion. I want to make it clear that that refers to the evidence and analysis presented in the impact assessment, not the policy itself. Our impact assessments provide initial analysis of the impacts that could follow, and we will be updating and refining them as we further develop the policy and continue our consultation and engagement. I reiterate just how important that is in our next steps with the Bill. I am keen that we continue to work with businesses as part of that consultation and engagement.
All in all, with this legislative framework, we need to ensure that we can make work pay, by addressing the challenges that Britain faces today and by including up-to-date employment protections in areas that have cost Britain’s workers and businesses so dearly over a number of years and that are desperate need of updating. For that reason, the package is pro-growth, pro-business and pro-worker. It supports our Government’s objective to boost growth and improve living standards for all.
The scale of the impacts will, of course, depend on further policies, which are ready for secondary legislation. I have already said that we will continue to engage and consult—[Interruption.]
Kate Dearden
Thank you, Dr Murrison. The hon. Member for Spelthorne also mentioned particular groups of workers who will benefit. I am glad he did so, because younger workers, women, people with disabilities and people from ethnic minority groups make up a higher than average share of those workers who will benefit from the package. Flexibility and the rebalancing of security are very important for that section of the workforce, so I am proud that the Bill will help those people to stay in work and that it will make their work more family-friendly, improve their living standards and put more money in their pockets.
Euan Stainbank
I welcome the Minister to her place. She is making an excellent point, but I refer her to specific sectors in which some Opposition parties have called for carve-outs. Does she agree that it is important that we do not carve out, for any particular sector, the strong provisions in the Bill, and that it is both morally and economically wrong to say to a young worker that if they work behind a bar, they should have fewer rights than if they worked behind a desk?
Kate Dearden
I want every single worker, no matter where they work, to have a good standard of rights in their workplace and to know their rights. The Bill will ensure that we can provide that opportunity for so many people, including young workers, and that they benefit from the legislation.
Kate Dearden
I want to make a bit of progress and respond to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). I thank him for his warm welcome and his contributions to the debate. Our small businesses are absolutely crucial for our economy, and I pay credit to the businesses in his constituency that he mentioned.
The hon. Member also mentioned sick pay and cost. Our legislation is so important because 1.3 million employees will now be entitled to statutory sick pay. The Health and Safety Executive found that stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 17.1 million working days lost in 2022-23. That is the equivalent of more than £5 billion of lost output annually. That is why it is important that sick pay is extended to so many workers in our economy; it will ultimately benefit businesses, because we can keep people in work, but people do not have to make that decision. The pandemic shone a light on the terrible situation that many workers face; I am proud that we will be extending sick pay to so many people, so they will not have to make that decision. Ultimately, that will help businesses, because we can keep people in work and support them when they need it.
We have listened carefully to concerns raised by business groups, trade associations and individual employers. I have already mentioned my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough, who was tireless in his efforts to engage with stakeholders, and spoken of my intention to do the same.
The Bill brings an opportunity to modernise outdated practices and reduce exploitation. It aims to create a level playing field for responsible employers to start to operate and build their businesses. We are also, of course, mindful of the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. I speak as someone with personal experience: I come from a family of small business owners, and I know at first hand the pressures that they face.
That is why many provisions will be phased in, giving time to adapt, and the Department will give clear guidance and consultation. We are committed to ongoing engagement with businesses. The implementation road map, which we published on 1 July, has received high levels of praise from businesses for the clarity that it has provided. I hope that that reassures the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney), as she also mentioned it in her remarks.
Decent employers stand to gain when the rules are fair. The shadow Minister mentioned her concerns about the impact of the Bill on growth. In the three months to July, GDP grew by 0.2%, meaning that cumulative growth this year has already exceeded the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast for the whole of 2025. I am absolutely confident in this Government’s growth agenda. We want to be bolder and more creative, and to ensure that every single area of this country feels the benefit of this Government and our growth priority. This Bill is absolutely key to that, as I have already outlined.
Our new Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hove and Portslade (Peter Kyle) has already spoken with more than 100 business leaders. He made putting that partnership at the heart of our growth mission a priority on coming into office. That laser focus on implementation, with his priority to double down on growth, is an absolute cornerstone of building powerful partnerships with business. We have shown we are listening; he touched on that a lot in the debate yesterday, so I will not repeat the arguments that he made very eloquently in the House.
To conclude, I reiterate that this Bill is about raising standards. It is about fairness, unlocking growth and future-proofing our economy. Fairness can drive growth. Businesses that treat their workers well can innovate more and grow faster. Stronger employment relations are absolutely essential to that.
As is typical with employment legislation, the technical details of many of the policies in this Bill will be provided through regulations, and in some cases codes of practice, following Royal Assent. We will be consulting extensively, because this Employment Rights Bill is a positive step forward for workers, for employers and for the economy. I look forward to working closely with all hon. Members of this House, and people outside it, to deliver on this landmark reform and make a real difference to workers, employers and our British economy.