An Update to The Taylor Review

An update to The Taylor Review could have far-reaching effects on zero hours contracts.

The Taylor Review is an independent review of modern working practices by Matthew Taylor on behalf of the government commissioned in October 2016 and took place in February 2017.

An update of the Review of February 2017 has been given by the Work and Pensions Committee and the BEIS Committee who published the fact that key recommendations from the Review will be acted upon.

The review followed 6 themes and includes (a) security, pay and rights (b) progression and training, and (c) balance of rights and responsibilities.

The recommendations mean that future changes are in the drafting and could be on the way. These changes include;

Clearer definitions of employment status emphasising the importance of control (see Pimlico article).
Individuals assumed to have a default worker status in organisations over a certain size.
Requirement for written statement of terms to be provided within 7 days of engagement.
Zero hours agreements to have either a minimum number of hours per week or a premium national minimum wage to compensate for uncertainty.
Higher fines for those who falsely class workers as self employed who know this not to be the case (i.e., have had previous finding)

Whilst many generally agree that these changes would be a good thing for the UK and its employment law, this is set to have an effect on the care industry and those with zero hours contracts.

Our experience of working with network partners is that many staff have zero hours contracts not because employers are trying to take advantage of such staff but because these staff genuinely like having the flexibility to alter their hours and shifts to fit in with their changing lives. Time will tell how this will effect the industry but the study and its effects will no doubt start to feature on next year’s employment law updates.