CIPP survey on measures to increase transparency in the UK labour market

08 May 2018

The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices has resulted in four consultations, one of which is seeking views on the measures recommended to increase transparency in the UK labour market.

To enable us to respond to this consultation the CIPP’s policy team has created a survey which will look at the following areas of the consultation document:

  • The government should build on and improve clarity, certainty and understanding of all working people by extending the right to a written statement to ‘dependent contractors’ as well as employees

  • The government should also consider introducing a standalone right for individuals to bring a claim for compensation if an employer has failed to provide a written statement... and that the government should do more; working with Acas and others to ensure information is accessible

  • The government should extend, from one week to one month, the consideration of the relevant break in service for the calculation of the qualifying period for continuous service and clarify the situations where cessations of work could be justified

  • The government should do more to promote awareness of holiday pay entitlements, increasing the pay reference period to 52 weeks to take account of seasonal variations and give dependent contractors the opportunity to receive rolled-up holiday pay

We would be very grateful if you could spare the time to complete this very important survey, especially as it includes a section on calculating Holiday Pay - a topic which will resonate with many members.

The survey should take around 20 minutes to complete and will close on 11 May. 

Background

In October 2016 the Prime Minister commissioned Matthew Taylor (chief executive of the Royal Society of the Arts) to conduct an independent review into modern working practices, focused on assessing how employment practices might need to change in order to keep pace with modern business models. 

In July 2017, Good Work- The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices was published, which included 53 recommendations. Taylor considered a range of issues, including the implications of new forms of work, the rise of digital platforms and the impact of new working methods on employee rights, responsibilities, freedoms and obligations. The review highlighted a number of areas where individuals and businesses would benefit from greater transparency around contractual arrangements between employers and workers and made a number of recommendations aimed at achieving this. The government then issued a consultation document on 7 February 2018 which addressed some of the issues raised in the review.