Draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2018

Robert Syms Excerpts

Wednesday 14th March 2018 General Committees

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

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2018.

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Ryan. It is also a pleasure to bring the order to the House, because in doing so we are protecting the rights of thousands of workers and ensuring that everyone is paid fairly. In our response to the Taylor review of modern working practices, the Government agreed with the principle of increasing transparency for workers. Workers should have access to information on their rights and entitlements. In fact, today’s order goes beyond the recommendations made by Matthew Taylor in that review.

The order was laid alongside the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) Order 2018. Together, the orders will give all workers across the economy the right to a regular payslip and require all employers to provide better information in those payslips to help workers understand what exactly they are being paid for. They will provide workers with more information on their pay and help workers spot if they are being underpaid. For example, the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) Order 2018 will require employers to increase the amount of information provided in time-paid employees’ payslips. That means employers will have to state clearly the number of hours that those workers are being paid for.

Put simply, if a worker receives a payslip recording 20 hours of work, when she or he has worked 25 hours, there is a clear case of underpayment. The transparency ensured by providing hourly information will assist workers in identifying and addressing cases of underpayment, including in some cases national minimum wage underpayment. Up to 1.6 million people will be entitled to receive information on the amount of time they are being paid for in their payslips.

The second order, which we are debating, extends the right to receive an itemised payslip to all workers. Currently only employees—a subset of workers—are entitled to a payslip. The order will mean that an estimated 300,000 workers who do not currently receive a payslip will start receiving one. These simple and practical changes will help workers up and down the country spot and address underpaid wages.

Whenever a worker thinks they may have been underpaid, I encourage them to raise it with their employer. Unfortunately for some workers, that is not always feasible. In those cases, workers should call ACAS for free and confidential advice. I commend the work of that organisation. However, although Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will look into potential national minimum wage underpayments, a worker will need to raise a complaint with an employment tribunal if they do not receive a payslip or the information to which they are entitled.

To develop the policy, we consulted widely with a variety of stakeholders, including employer and worker representatives and payroll and software providers. The exercise established that the majority of stakeholders supported the principle of greater transparency and sharing more information with workers. We are encouraged that the majority of employers already provide all their workers, not just those who are employees, with a payslip. Furthermore, some employers also include breakdowns on the hours worked by their staff. The orders therefore bring all employers under one set of standards.

[Sir Robert Syms (Poole) (Con)]

Will the Minister define what he considers a payslip? Is it a piece of paper or is it access to something online?

[Andrew Griffiths]

It is access to information on the amount that a worker or employee is being paid, so it could be paper or it could be electronic.

I have listened to the arguments for even greater detail in payslips, which I am sure hon. Members may want to make. It is important that we introduce the measure in a proportionate way that does not overburden employers who are trying to do the right thing.

The need to provide greater transparency over pay in workers’ payslips was first recommended by the independent Low Pay Commission. It said:

“We recommend that the Government reviews the current obligations on employers regarding provision of payslips and considers introducing a requirement that payslips of hourly-paid staff clearly state the hours they are being paid for.”

Bringing these orders into force is part of a wider Government crackdown on wage underpayment. Those aged 25 and over are entitled to the national living wage of £7.50 per hour, and I am pleased to say that the Government will increase that rate above inflation to £7.83 from next month. That is a pay rise of £600 a year for those on the national minimum wage. In all, increases to the national minimum wage and national living wage will benefit more than 2 million workers. It is a well-earned pay rise.

We recognise that, as the minimum wage rises each year, the risk of non-compliance increases. We are actively taking steps to tackle non-compliance and sending a clear message to employers that underpaying workers will not go unpunished. It is simply wrong and must end, which is why the Government continue to invest heavily in ensuring workers are paid correctly. We have doubled our investment in minimum wage enforcement and spend more than £25 million annually on investigating employers and ensuring they meet their legal responsibilities.

It is right that workers are provided with transparent information on their employment rights. It helps empower workers to hold their employers to account. It is essential for good work and underpins a productive and motivated workforce.