Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Margot James and Jeff Smith

Tuesday 12th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

2. To ask the Secretary of State what progress he has made on assessing the recommendations of the Taylor review of modern working practices.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Margot James)]

We welcome, accept and agree with Matthew Taylor’s ambition that all work in the UK should be fair and decent, with realistic scope for development and fulfilment. The report is comprehensive and detailed. We will give it the careful consideration it deserves, and we will respond in full later this year.

[Jeff Smith]

Taylor agreed that we needed to ensure that the self-employed were genuinely self-employed and to strengthen their rights. A Labour Government would shift the burden of proof, so that the law would assume that a worker was an employee unless the employer could prove otherwise. We would set up a dedicated commission to modernise the law on employment status. Why cannot this Government commit to real action like that?

[Margot James]

Much of what the hon. Gentleman refers to is covered by Matthew Taylor in his report, and one of his recommendations that we will be following up with interest is that all workers should be informed of their status in writing by their employer before they start their work.