The TUC has found that employees are strongly in favour of adopting a comprehensive set of basic work rights as well as providing several weeks’ notice before shifts.
A poll of 2,523 workers, conducted by GQR Research, shows employees are looking for workers’ key rights to be boosted.
These include all workers being eligible to having the same set of basic working rights, employers giving staff 28 days notice prior to shifts as well as the banning of zero-hours contracts.
Over four in five (84 per cent) were supportive of the idea of introducing a standard set of basic working rights which all workers would be eligible for. Conversely, only four per cent were opposed.
This comes after recent legislation highlighted that workers within the gig economy such as Uber drivers were previously denied key workers’ rights such as a minimum notice period if their employment ends, protection against unfair dismissal and the right to request flexible working.
Furthermore, over half of workers (54 per cent) were in favour of banning zero-hours contracts with a fifth (20 per cent) opposed to this.
Connected to this issue, 70 per cent of workers also felt staff should be given a minimum notice of 28 days before their shift, allowing them to adequately prepare childcare.
This comes after recent TUC research found that many workers who were not given adequate notice before shifts were BME workers working in insecure jobs.
The TUC have expressed that action in this area would be important for BME workers and criticised the Government for failing to include this within the Sewell Report.
As such, the TUC has urged the Government to address these changes and show a “renewed commitment to an employment bill” within the Queen’s speech.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
Everyone deserves dignity at work.
The pandemic exposed the terrible working conditions and insecurity that is the reality of many of our key workers in retail, care, and delivery. This has to be a turning point.
It beggars belief that the government is still dragging its heels on an employment bill that was first announced a year and a half ago. It’s time the government stopped dithering and delivered on its promise to boost workers’ rights.
Ministers must bring forward the employment bill in next month’s Queen’s Speech, and use it to ban zero-hours contracts and end exploitation at work, once and for all.
*To obtain these results, GQR Research conducted an online poll of 2,523 respondents aged 16+ in work in Great Britain, between 29th January and 16th February, 2021.
Monica Sharma is an English Literature graduate from the University of Warwick. As Editor for HRreview, her particular interests in HR include issues concerning diversity, employment law and wellbeing in the workplace. Alongside this, she has written for student publications in both England and Canada. Monica has also presented her academic work concerning the relationship between legal systems, sexual harassment and racism at a university conference at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
