Government back Predictable Working Bill
10 February 2023
- Government has given its backing to the Worker (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill, designed to provide individuals working under variable or zero hours contracts a more predicable working pattern
- The Bill would apply to workers and employees (including temporary workers) who have been engaged for at least 26 weeks
- If their working patterns lack certainly in terms of the hours or times they work, or if they are on a fixed term contract, they can formally apply (up to twice a year) to change their working pattern to make it more predictable
- A “working pattern” means hours, days and time worked as well as the period the worker is contracted for
- Similarly to flexible working requests, employee requests can be rejected for reasons such as; burden of additional costs, detrimental impact on the ability to meet customer demand or on other aspects of the business, or insufficiency of work during the periods the worker proposes to work
- The Bill has passed through the second reading in the House of Commons but still needs to complete all other stages, as well as pass through the House of Lords before it can take effect – see more information here and the draft Bill here
Aspire comment
This Bill is another piece of legislation being introduced by Government to support workers’ rights.
See our news here on other new policies here;
https://www.aspirepartnership.co.uk/News/5673/day-one-flexible-working-rights