Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers have been accused of trying to block stronger rights for millions of workers amid a growing campaign by business leaders to water down Labour\u2019s zero-hours contract plans.<\/p>\n
In a blow for the government, the Lords last week voted to curtail the manifesto promise to give workers a right to a guaranteed hours contract and day-one protections against unfair dismissal.<\/p>\n
Setting up a showdown with the upper chamber, the Lords passed a series of amendments to the employment rights bill that will must be addressed by ministers when MPs return from their summer break.<\/p>\n
In an angry intervention on Monday, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Paul Nowak, said the Lords was \u201cdoing the bidding of bad bosses\u201d and ought to \u201cget out of the way\u201d of the plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sight of hereditary peers voting to block stronger workers\u2019 rights belongs in another century. It\u2019s plain wrong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Under the Lords\u2019 amendments, a requirement for employers to offer zero-hours workers a contract covering a guaranteed number of hours would be shifted to place the onus on staff to ask for such an arrangement.<\/p>\n
Protections against unfair dismissal from the first day of employment \u2013 which the government plans to reduce from the current level of two years \u2013 would be extended to six months, and changes to free up trade unions would be curtailed.<\/p>\n
The bill will return to the Commons in September for MPs to consider the amendments. The two houses then continue to vote on the changes in a process known as \u201cping-pong\u201d until a way forward is agreed.<\/p>\n
The amendments were put forward by the Lib Dem Lord Goddard, a former leader of Stockport council, and two Tory peers: Lord Hunt, who is a shadow business minister, and Lord Sharpe, a former investment banker.<\/p>\n
Hunt did not respond to a request for comment. Sharpe said: \u201cKeir Starmer\u2019s unemployment bill is a disaster for employees as much as it is a threat to business. Labour politicians who have never worked in business are destroying the economy. Only the Conservatives<\/a> are listening to business and making the case for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Goddard said he feared Labour\u2019s \u201crushed bill\u201d would be bad for workers in small businesses and on family-owned farms. \u201cThey were badly let down by the Conservatives, and Labour seems to have a blind spot when it comes to farms and small businesses, too.<\/p>\n \u201cWe support the bill as a whole and have worked constructively to try to improve it. It\u2019s a shame to see the government getting upset that we didn\u2019t simply give them a blank cheque.\u201d<\/p>\n Employers groups welcomed the changes, saying the Lords was responding to business concerns. Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: \u201cPutting forward positive, practical and pragmatic amendments to the employment rights bill [will] help to protect the availability of valuable, local, part-time and entry level jobs up and down the country.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Industry chiefs have stepped up lobbying against the workers\u2019 rights changes, warning that companies were already slashing jobs and putting up prices<\/a> in response to tax rises in chancellor Rachel Reeves\u2019s autumn budget.<\/p>\n Dickinson said there was \u201cfurther to go\u201d to curb the employment rights bill. \u201cEven with these amendments accepted, retailers remain worried about the consequences for jobs from other areas of the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n