Labour Research January 2017

News

Modern employment under review

The government has announced a review of modern employment practices to be led by Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Arts. 


Launched at the end of last year, the six-month review will consider the implications of new forms of work on workers' rights and responsibilities, as well as on employer freedoms and obligations. With 15% of those in the UK labour market now classified as self-employed, there has been a rise in the numbers doing “gig” work — short-term, casual work increasingly accessed through mobile phone apps.


While Taylor has spoken of the important role unions have to play in achieving a fair, flexible and sustainable employment framework, disappointment has been expressed that no one with a union background has a lead role in the review. 


Other panel members are Paul Broadbent, chief executive of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority; employment lawyer Diane Nicol; and Greg Marsh, who founded the home letting company, onefinestay.

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/employment-practices-in-the-modern-economy