Queen's Speech: PwC comments on employment rights

10 May 2022

John Harding, head of employment tax at PwC UK, comments:

“As widely predicted, today's Queen's Speech made no explicit mention of an Employment Bill. The proposed Bill, which was first referred to in the Queen's Speech in 2019, has long been expected to cover a range of issues, including the establishment of a Single Enforcement Body in relation to workers' rights, as well as enhancing rights to flexible working and ensuring that employers pass all tips to their staff. The repeated assurances from Ministers in recent months that the Employment Bill would be introduced when Parliamentary time allows, suggests that this could be introduced in 2023. However, employers and employees will continue to be left in limbo as to what the Government's intentions are going forward until then.  

“However, the Queen's Speech was not devoid of content in relation to employment rights, with the Government confirming its intention to introduce legislation to ensure that seafarers working aboard vessels visiting UK ports be paid not less than the national minimum wage (NMW), by ensuring that ports have powers to refuse access to ferry services that do not pay an equivalent of the NMW to seafarers while in UK waters. The Government has launched a consultation on the proposals.

“The Government has also repeated its commitment to review the Apprenticeship Levy, including whether it is doing enough to incentivise businesses to invest in the right kinds of training.”   

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Alice Bowdery

Alice Bowdery

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