A new law that was expected to give people the right to request predictable working hours has been ditched in favour of forthcoming laws, the Department of Business and Trade has confirmed.
The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023, received Royal Assent in September 2023 and was due to become effective this autumn.
When enacted, the law was intended to support those in atypical work, such as zero-hours or temporary contracts, by giving them the right to request a more predictable working pattern.
However, the government now plans to press on with new legislation and this right may now form part of its forthcoming Employment Rights Bill.
Working hours
Right to predictable working hours receives Royal Assent
A DBT spokesperson said: “We will introduce a new right to a contract that reflects the number of hours regularly worked as part of our significant and ambitious agenda to ensure workplace rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and deliver economic growth.
“We do not want to confuse employers and workers with two different models, so we currently have no plans to bring this Act into force.”
Liz Stevens, employment lawyer at Birketts, said: “The Act introduced a new right to request a predictable working pattern, which would have worked in a very similar way to the right to request flexible working. Provided employers followed the procedure for considering any such request, and dealt with it in a ‘reasonable’ manner, they would have been able to reject such a request on legitimate business grounds. This attracted considerable criticism for not going far enough in providing security for workers with unstable working hours.
“Rather than moving to implement this rather toothless legislation, it appears that the new Labour government wants to wait and introduce a strengthened right for such workers to be given a contract that reflects the hours they actually work, using a 12-week reference period, as well as being given ‘reasonable notice’ of any change to their working hours. This will represent a much bigger change for employers to get to grips with, particularly if they engage large numbers of zero-hours employees. We don’t yet know the details of how this will work in practice, but it is something that will require further consultation before any new legislation takes effect. It is unlikely we will see any changes in force until late 2025 at the earliest.”
At the time the Act received Royal Assent, Labour peer Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent said it would give workers additional predictability and security in their hours and income at a time when many are struggling with the rising cost of living.
She said: “Workers will be better able to secure employment that suits their individual circumstances, helping them to feel more satisfied at work.
“Workers will be empowered and encouraged to talk to their employers about their working patterns, safe in the knowledge that starting this conversation will not result in any detriment.”
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