Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department is making on the Employment Bill; and when he plans to introduce that legislation.

The Employment Bill will support the Government’s aim to build a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy that delivers on our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to work and grow a business. COVID-19 is having a profound impact on the labour market, so it is right that we introduce the Employment Bill when we are sure it will address the needs of businesses and workers in the post-Covid economy. We will bring forward the Employment Bill when the Parliamentary time allows it. In the meantime, we will continue to take necessary action to support businesses and protect jobs.

We have already made significant progress in bringing forward legislation to protect workers’ rights, including:

• Giving all workers the right to receive a statement of their rights from day one;
• Introducing new rights to workers to receive a payslip and for payslips for hourly paid workers to include the numbers of hours worked;
• Quadrupling the maximum additional penalty fine that Employment Tribunals can use for employers who treat their workers badly;
• Closing a loophole which sees agency workers employed on cheaper rates than permanent workers;
• Extending the holiday pay reference period from 12 to 52 weeks, ensuring those in seasonal or atypical roles get fair holiday pay; and

Announcing a new naming scheme for employers who fail to pay Employment Tribunal awards.