Contributions
1,586 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I will be brief in my response to these Government amendments, which make the requirement for the right to reasonable notice of cancellation or changing of shifts more onerous. I…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I remain very concerned about some of the real-world applications. I accept that it will have a negative impact in a minority of cases. The purpose of our amendment, as I said,…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I am grateful for the intervention. On the hon. Gentleman’s first point, yes, of course there are insurance policies that many businesses will take out. But the example I just…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)The amendments are intended to probe the Government’s thinking, as once again it is not clear to us in the Opposition whether they have done the necessary policy work to justify…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 145, in clause 2, page 13, line 25, leave out “a specified amount of time” and insert “48 hours”. This amendment defines reasonable notice of a requestor…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I am grateful to the Minister for that comprehensive outline of clause 1 but, as I reflect on our debate over today’s two sittings on the amendments to clause 1—the Government…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)indicated dissent.03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I understand why, in our combative political system, the hon. Gentleman wants to bring up the previous Government’s record. I gently suggest that the covid pandemic had a big…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Fifth sitting)The point we have to look at, across the six amendments that we are considering in this group, is the reality of small and medium-sized businesses. I congratulate the hon. Lady on…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)Quite a list of amendments and edits to the 100-day-old Bill. I will start where the Minister left off. The amendments extend the time for employees to bring a case to the…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)Amendment 12 states that it is to be presumed by tribunals “that it was not reasonable for the worker’s contract to have been entered into as a limited-term contract” if the work…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I will not detain the Committee for much longer because, as the Minister said, it felt as though we had the debate on the whole clause during the debates on the amendments. I…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. As a precursor to my comments on these specific amendments, I note that the sheer volume of Government amendments…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)There are a number of options that could be looked at. The time set out in the regulations could be much more flexible. There could be safeguards for force majeure circumstances,…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Fifth sitting)Our own legislation last year cited 12 weeks. There is clearly a lot in the Bill that we oppose because we just do not think it works in the interests of British business or…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Fifth sitting)Of course it is on the absurd end of the spectrum, but as I said to the hon. Member for Worsley and Eccles, that is to highlight the issue. Sometimes, when we have a total lack of…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Fifth sitting)Of course we will withdraw the amendment, but the critical question is why the Minister has referred to 12 weeks, but it is not in the legislation. As he considers tabling…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He is right that there may well be something else that can be done—perhaps a stocktake, or making a start on refurbishing…03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)Here we go.03 Dec 2024HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Sixth sitting)I can assure the hon. Gentleman that, with three children, I am acutely aware of the cost of childcare. The point I am making, to go back to the one I made earlier to his hon.…03 Dec 2024