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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 18TH JULY 2017
Question
In the light of the recommendations of the Taylor Review on modern employment practices, published on 11th July 2017, will the Minister:
- bring forward proposals to ban the inappropriate use of zero-hour contracts,
- empower her departmental officers through regulations to investigate and, if necessary, enforce appropriate usage of such contracts,
- give employees the right to request a minimum-hours contract,
- publicly adopt the position expressed by the Chief Minister, that employees should have a choice of type of employment contract, and
- state when she intends to bring a report to the States on options for protecting workers in a changing employment market?
Answer
The Taylor Review was commissioned by the UK government in October 2016. The review was asked to consider employment practices in the modern economy.
This written question was submitted before the report on the Taylor Review was released.
The report does not recommend that zero-hour contracts should be banned, or that the appropriate use of zero-hour contracts should be investigated and enforced through workplace inspections.
The final report of the Taylor Review is a detailed document that makes a number of interesting recommendations aimed at encouraging "good quality work" while balancing flexibility and fairness. Some of the recommendations are specific to the UK legislation which is different to Jersey's employment legislation. For example, a number of the recommendations seek to provide additional protection for a group currently known as workers' in the UK. These individuals already have protection as employees' under Jersey's legislation.
The Taylor Review also recommends that zero-hour contract staff should have the right to request guaranteed working hours. The Minister is pleased to have this opportunity to remind the Assembly that Article 15A of the Employment Law already gives some employees in Jersey the right to request a change to their contracted working hours. The right currently applies to employees who provide care for a child or an adult and who have worked for their employer for at least 15 months. As part of the ongoing review of family friendly employment rights, the Employment Forum is in the process of considering whether the right should be extended so that it applies to all employees. The Minister has asked the Forum to take into account the specific recommendation of the Taylor Review in the course of preparing its recommendation in December. If the Forum recommends that the right to request a change to contracted working hours should be extended to all employees, an amendment could be made to the Employment Law next year.
The Minister will take time to reflect on the whole report in detail and will consider the other recommendations in the context of Jersey's Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 before she decides whether any action should be taken.