A good work plan?

Described by the government as “the biggest package of workplace reforms for over 20 years”, the Good Work Plan was published on 17 December 2018.

The Good Work Plan is the output from the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, launched in 2016 and published in July 2017, with the overarching ambition that all work should be fair and decent and for employers to offer opportunities that give individuals realistic scope to develop and progress.

When will these changes come into force?

The first of the new rights – to itemised payslips for all workers, not just employees, and the increase in the maximum penalty for an aggravated breach of employment rights from £5,000 to £20,000 – will come into force on 6 April 2019.

Beyond that most of the changes are expected in April 2020.   Draft  regulations were published late last year which, when they come into force will:

• Give all workers, not just employees, the right to a written statement of terms;
• Require the “section 1” written statement of terms to be given on or before the first day, rather than within two months of the start of employment, and adding additional information to that statement;
• Increase the reference period of calculating holiday pay from 12 to 52 weeks (or the number of complete weeks for a worker in their first year);
• Lower the threshold required for a request to set up information and consultation arrangements from 10% to 2%, although the current minimum of 15 employees remains; and
• Remove the “Swedish Derogation” which enables an employment business to pay agency workers less than direct recruits if they have an employment contract with a right to pay between assignments. All agency workers will have the right to pay parity after 12 weeks.

The Good Work Plan also looks to tackle the difficult question of employment status which have featured in a number of recent cases involving the likes of Uber, Deliveroo, and Pimlico Plumbers but no firm proposals have yet been put forward.